


Our Ancestor's Sins

by Vanitas_Repliku_26



Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Genre: 17 is the 'adult' age for Hylians, Action/Adventure, But I'm a self-indulgent person, Canon-Typical Violence, Childhood Friends, Developing Relationship, Don't copy to another site, F/M, Friends to Lovers, I just keep adding onto this, I'll add more people as I go along, I'm putting this as underage to be safe, M/M, Mute Link, Sign Language, Slow Burn, So I keep writing to slake my thirst, Sort of; gonna be a while before they get together, The commenters for this is small, Zelda and Gan have their first smexy times when Zelda is 16 and Gan is 18, dubious content?, just being super safe, maybe? - Freeform, not sure, so 16 is below it
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-04
Updated: 2020-05-28
Packaged: 2020-06-07 18:37:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Underage
Chapters: 40
Words: 133,078
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19474999
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vanitas_Repliku_26/pseuds/Vanitas_Repliku_26
Summary: Arc 1: Zelda, Ganondorf, and Link had grown up together. Of course not everything could be so peaceful forever. When his Triforce manifests, Ganondorf is forced to flee or face execution. Zelda and Link join him and together the three struggle to find a way to remain friends and put Demise's Curse to sleep.Arc 2: Coming SoonI do not give my permission for this fic to be posted on Fanfic Pocket Library (Unofficial) or any other similar app.





	1. Arc 1: Friends Forever

**Author's Note:**

> This is inspired by an RP I did with Appl3sauce on Tumblr through Discord.  
> I hope you guys enjoy :)

The Kingdom of Hyrule had been around for hundreds of years. Its first king had ruled it well, allowing it to flourish, and his daughter had saved it from ruin with a Goddess-blessed Hero. The beast that had tried to raze the kingdom to the ground had been slaughtered. This cycle continued in a predictable pattern with the Hyrule Princess and the Hero defeating the monster whenever it reared its head.

King Rhoam Bosphoramus Hyrule XCIV was not about to make the same mistake as his ancestors. Instead of waiting for the Gerudo King to grow in strength and power, he struck the desert people first.

Razing their small town to the ground and scattering the Gerudo tribe to the wind, he took the moons old child back to Castle Town. With its skin still pale and not darkened by the sun to the typical Gerudo bronze, the only indication that the child was not Hylian was its gold eyes and fiery red hair.

King Rhoam passed the child off to a simple ranch family, a position he deemed worthy enough to keep the thirst of power at bay.

King Rhoam was satisfied with his work.

Without the boy in the hands of the Gerudo to poison and corrupt him, the Gerudo King would grow up as a Hylian, never learning of his true destiny. King Rhoam was determined to keep the boy ignorant of his heritage. And if it ever came down to the boy coming into his abilities as the Demon King, the King of Hyrule would snuff out the Gerudo’s life before he became too powerful to stop.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Zelda groaned quietly as she listened to Purah blather on about the history between the Kingdom of Hyrule and the Domain of the Zora.

History wasn’t really her strong suit, but her Sheikah teacher was insistent she learned it before her time as ruler came to pass.

She was only five, however, so all the ancient talk was boring her. Her current train of thought was on the fact that her father had promised she could go out into the market of Castle Town for the first time. It was the fact that she was deemed old enough to step outside the front doors of the castle that made Zelda buzz with excitement.

As long as she brought Impa, the younger sister to Purah, with her on her excursion.

Despite both of them having their white hairs drawn up into buns, Purah and Impa were not alike in the least. While Purah enjoyed history and the technology that was supposedly created by her race over ten thousand years ago, Impa was more stoic, drawn into her duties as the protector and bodyguard to Zelda.

Heaving another sigh, Zelda dropped her chin into her hand as she began to doodle on her note sheet; crude stick figures of monsters and Zora.

“Are you listening, Princess?” Purah’s voice interrupted the blank state her mind had gone into.

Startled, Zelda looked up with wide eyes.

Purah was staring at her expectantly, arms crossed.

“Uh…”

“What was the last thing I said?”

Blushing in embarrassment, Zelda looked down at her notes, scanning them over. She didn’t know where she had stopped listening.

“Um…there are lots of different subspecies of Zora…?” Zelda mumbled, tapering off at the end.

The look on Purah’s face told her she was off base.

“Are you done torturing her yet?” Impa asked, opening the door to the study.

Zelda gasped, hopping out of her seat. “Does that mean we can leave now?”

Impa nodded, smiling as she patted Zelda’s head. “Get into some nice clothes.”

After Zelda had run off with a high-pitched squeal, Impa looked at Purah who was staring at her in displeasure.

“Don’t look at me like that. You’re just as soft on her as I am.”

Purah snorted, but didn’t deny Impa’s statement.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Hey there, little cuccos. Want some breakfast?”

The cuccos fluttered to the spot where seed had been scattered, clucking amongst themselves.

The redhead chuckled at the cuccos. “Good birds.”

“Hey, Gan!” a woman called from the window of a house.

“Yeah, mom?”

“Can you also feed the cows and horses?”

“On it!”

Despite only being seven, Ganondorf had wiry arms built from carrying hay bales and heavy feed bags since he was four. He had the tan of a farmer, shoulder-length red hair drawn up into a ponytail to keep it out of his way.

Ganondorf’s family owned a farm at the corner of castle Town. Three horses, five cuccos, and two Hateno cows gave them the milk, eggs, and cheese that they sold at the market for a good amount of Rupees.

Ganondorf headed into the barn where the two Hateno cows resided in their stalls, their usually long horns cut in half and smoothed to a rounded point to prevent any possible injury to themselves or their handlers.

Ganondorf patted the noses of both cows. “You guys hungry? I’ll get some hay for you.”

The cows continued chewing their cud as Ganondorf grabbed a bale of hay from against the side wall. He took off the string holding it together before spreading the hay between the two.

“No fighting now.”

Someone tapped Ganondorf on the arm and he looked to his side to see a five-year-old blond waving at him.

“Oh, good morning, Link.”

 **Good morning,** Link signed.

Link reached up to Ganondorf’s chest so he always had to look up to the redhead. His hair was shorter than Ganondorf’s, but he managed to tame it into a stubby ponytail. He had blue eyes that reminded Ganondorf of the sapphire gemstones he had seen in the market, brought down from the mines in Death Mountain.

Link’s family was a half mile away from Ganondorf’s family farm. Instead of livestock, his family owned a crop farm; they grew endura carrots, hearty radishes and truffles, and Hylian rice. They owned two horse used to plow the fields between seasons.

Link and Ganondorf had been friends for nearly two years. Ganondorf hadn’t really meant to become friends with the blond but the blond had decided that they were going to be friends because Ganondorf had protected Link from some bullies.

He hadn’t even done that much; just stood behind Link and crossed his arms in a challenge, daring the bullies to continue what they were doing.

Needless to say the bullies had cowered at the sight of the tall Hylian and fled. They never bothered Link again since Link always hung around Ganondorf.

 **Need help?** Link asked, grinning at the taller male.

Ganondorf gave a nod. “Sure. I was just about to feed the horses.”

Link perked up at the statement. He loved horses and horses seemed to like him; he was like a weird horse whisperer.

**I want to help! Let me help!**

With a chuckle, Ganondorf returned to the stable where he hefted two bales of hay on both shoulders.

“You want to help, go grab that bag of oats.”

Link saluted then ran over to grab the large oat bag, grabbing it and beginning to drag it after Ganondorf.

Ganondorf glanced at the blond struggling to drag the eighty pound bag and snorted at the sight.

Dumping both bales of hay over the fence that contained the horses, Ganondorf cut the string then loosened the hay.

“There you go, guys.”

Link finally managed to drag the bag over to Ganondorf, huffing. He leaned on his knees to catch his breath.

**Got the…bag…**

With a roll of his eyes, Ganondorf opened the bag and poured the oats into the trough. “Good job.”

Link grinned before his ears pricked up at the chattering he heard. He trotted off towards the noise to see what it was all about. Peeking around the corner of a house, Link gasped at the sight of Princess Zelda coming down the road with a tall, intimidating Sheikah woman behind her.

“What are you gawking at?” Ganondorf asked, coming up beside Link.

Link made a bunch of frantic motions that didn’t even qualify as a sentence, let alone Hylian Sign Language before he pointed.

Ganondorf followed Link’s finger and gave a choked gasp. “Th-the princess!”

**I know!**

Ganondorf and Link watched as Princess Zelda dawdled at several stalls of food or trinkets, observing the items in awe.

After a bit, Ganondorf backed up and grabbed onto the downspout of the house they were hiding beside, pulling it to test its hold.

Link grabbed Ganondorf’s shirt. **What are you doing?**

“Getting a better look,” Ganondorf grunted, clambering up to the roof.

Link grabbed his hair as he watched Ganondorf leave before he peeked around the house once more, watching as Princess Zelda grew closer to their position.

Spanning the roof he was on to another roof across the road was a thick rope. Carefully, Ganondorf crawled across the rope until he reached the middle where he sat down, holding onto the rope for support.

Now he had a bird’s eye view of Princess Zelda walking down the street.

Ganondorf leaned a bit so he could get a better look.

The rope vibrated with the shift in weight and Ganondorf squawked as he lost his balance, falling off the rope.

Impa put an arm in front of Zelda when she heard the squawk, pulling the princess back as someone face planted several feet in front of them.

Zelda looked around the Sheikah’s arm, watching as the male rolled over before siting up.

Ganondorf groaned as he rubbed his face, making sure nothing was broken and his nose wasn’t bleeding.

He stiffened when he saw both the Sheikah and Zelda staring at him.

Scrambling to his feet, Ganondorf gave a quick bow before taking off.

Zelda frowned, shoulders slumping as the redhead bolted. She hadn’t even gotten to ask the boy if he was all right.

“Come along, Zelda,” Impa murmured. “Do you want to make a flower crown for your father?”

Zelda’s mood lifted at the suggestion, all thoughts of the strange boy gone from her mind, and she nodded excitedly. “Yeah!”

“We’ll go a bit outside the castle gates, but not too far. Monsters lurk in numbers in Hyrule Field.”

“Okay.” Zelda followed Impa closely, eager to make something she knew her father would cherish.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Daddy, daddy!”

Rhoam’s hair and beard were long and white. A gold crown with Hyrule’s royal symbol of a bird with wings spread adorned his head. He wore the royal clothes of a king, the Triforce attached to his belt.

“There you are, my little blossom!” Rhoam kneeled down, opening his arms for Zelda as she ran towards him. Once she had leapt into his arms, he spun her around. “Did you enjoy your time in town today?”

"Mm-hm!” Zelda nodded, grinning as she pointed to Impa who was carrying the flower crown she had made. “I made a flower crown out of those pretty flowers you always talk about!”

Rhoam hummed as he held Zelda in one arm so he could take the flower crown the Sheikah offered him. “Ahh, the Silent Princess….your mother loved these…”

Zelda frowned as she looked down. Her mother had passed from an illness when she had been two. Zelda didn’t remember much about her other than the drawings Rhoam had done of her and the fact that she smelled like the Silent Princess: crisp and earthy like the scent of dirt after rainfall.

Rhoam smiled, setting the crown on his head before ruffling Zelda’s head. “I love it. Thank you.”

Zelda giggled, throwing her arms around Rhoam’s neck. “I’m glad!”

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ten Years Later

“Hey, Link! Where are you, you lazy bastard?!” Ganondorf looked around as he searched for his wayward friend who had mysteriously disappeared.

Link had offered to help Ganondorf with his chores so they could go hang out quicker but now Ganondorf couldn’t even find a hair of the blond.

“Where did that idiot go?” Ganondorf muttered, setting his hands on his hips as he glanced around the cucco’s yard for a sign of Link.

“Hey, Gan!”

Looking to his right, Ganondorf saw Zelda coming towards him dressed a casual outfit of dark trousers and a long-sleeved blue shirt. Her blonde hair was long, falling past the middle of her back.

Somehow when they had been kids, Zelda had inserted herself into Ganondorf and Link’s circle. Having the Princes as their friend was nerve-wracking at first, but the two had eventually adjusted to her presence. And she was proficient at ditching her Sheikah guards.

“Good morning, Zelda.”

“You done with your chores yet?” Zelda asked. “We can go shield surfing at Rauru Hillside.”

“Not yet. I lost Link; he was supposed to be clearing out the stables. It looks clean but I can’t figure out where he disappeared to.”

“I can help. Two heads are better than one.”

Ganondorf rolled his eyes, smirking as he ruffled her hair. “Whatever you say, Princess.”

Zelda swatted Ganondorf’s hand away and he held his hands up in surrender. She pouted at him before heading into the stable to search for Link.

He was probably asleep somewhere Ganondorf hadn’t thought to look.

While Ganondorf continued his search in the pasture, Zelda searched the stable. After a bit of looking and shifting through hay, she found a familiar tuft of blond hair buried under the hay of a stall.

Careful not to wake him, Zelda went outside to get Ganondorf and they both returned to stare at Link sleeping in the hay.

“Ah, yes, the Link in his natural habitat,” Ganondorf murmured.

Zelda snorted, covering her mouth so she wouldn’t laugh and accidentally wake Link.

Ganondorf suddenly grinned maliciously. “I got his arms.”

Zelda clapped her hands, realizing Ganondorf’s plan. “I’ll get his legs.”

Together, they picked up Link and carried him outside to the nearest water trough.

Slowly swinging him side to side, Ganondorf and Zelda tossed the blond into the trough.

Link landed in the water with a splash, the cold quickly waking him up and soaking his clothes. Link flailed a bit before he managed to get halfway out of the trough, scowling at his laughing friends.

**Not funny!**

“It was extremely funny,” Ganondorf snorted.

“That’s what you get for sleeping on the job,” Zelda said. “Maybe you won’t do it again.”

Link pouted as he climbed out of the trough, taking off his shoes and dumping the water out of them.

A melody floated out of the open window of one of the castle turrets.

Ganondorf looked towards the sound, a pang of nostalgia hitting him.

“They’re playing it again.”

“The organ?” Zelda asked, following Ganondorf’s gaze. “Father plays it around this time.”

 **I prefer an ocarina,** Link signed as he wrung out his shirt.

Ganondorf snorted while Zelda said, “Lyres are my personal favorite. There’s something about their noise that soothes me.”

Ganondorf shook his head, crossing his arms. He continued to gaze at the castle.

Zelda watched him before grinning. “Do you want to see the organ?”

Ganondorf whipped his head around to stare at Zelda in surprise. “What? Really?”

 **We can go in the castle?!** Link signed excitedly.

Zelda nodded, waving them to follow her.

Ganondorf and Link grinned at each other as they followed after her.

“The organ’s in a small room off the library,” Zelda said as she led the two into a side door. “It’s an old organ; been in our family for generations.”

“I bet it’s beautiful,” Ganondorf murmured, staring at the décor and paintings of Hyrule’s royal family’s ancestors hanging along the walls.

“Dad keeps it well polished!” Zelda glanced back at Ganondorf and Link only to snap, “Link!”

Ganondorf slowed to a stop, glancing behind him to see Link holding a pot above his head.

“What are you doing?” Ganondorf asked.

Link glanced around as if to make sure Ganondorf was indeed asking him before he held the pot under his arm so he could sign **Looking for Rupees?**

“Why would a Rupee be in a pot?”

“Those are antiques!” Zelda hissed. “Break them, I break you.”

Link pouted, setting the pot down where he had found it.

“Hands in your pockets.”

Link stuffed his hands in his pockets, shoulders slumping in defeat.

Satisfied, Zelda continued leading the two to the room where the organ was held.

It stood against the far wall, mahogany wood gleaming in the sunlight streaming in through the open window. A red carpet lead to the organ’s seat, border decorated gold.

A gilded carving of the Triforce loomed above the organ.

Ganondorf slowly approached the organ, running his hand along the side then pressing a few keys.

It was perfectly tuned.

Sitting at the seat, Ganondorf began to play a slow, somber tune.

“I didn’t know he could play,” Zelda murmured.

Link shrugged. **Me either.**

As they continued to watch him, Zelda swore she saw someone else sitting in Ganondorf’s place.

An older man with short hair and strange clothes, a cape draped around his shoulders.

She blinked and the vision was gone.

Ganondorf was still playing the strange tune but he soon stopped when a sharp pain pierced his head. With a hiss, he rested his forehead in his hands, a discordant tune ringing out when his elbows hit the organ keys.

“Ganondorf?” Zelda asked. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.” Ganondorf hissed, lifting his head.

The headache was gone as quickly as it had come.

“Headache.”

 **Do you want to go home?** Link asked.

Ganondorf shook his head. “I’m fine. I don’t want to miss out on shield surfing.”

Zelda gave a hum, sharing a look with Link.

Once they were certain Ganondorf was indeed all right, the three headed to Rauru Hillside to shield surf; Ganondorf snagged a knight’s shield from an unsuspecting trainee as they passed him on their way through Hyrule Forest Park.

It took a while to reach the hillside and by the time they could see it in the distance, Zelda took off running ahead of the boys.

Making a game of it, the two chased after her and all three raced each other to the top of the hill.

Ganondorf reached the hilltop first, slapping his hand on the ground to claim his victory.

“No…no fair!” Zelda panted, both her and Link leaning on their knees to catch their breath. “You’re obnoxiously tall!”

 **Yeah!** Link protested. **You cover more ground.**

Ganondorf rolled his eyes and crossed his arms.

“When I’m Queen, I’m gonna….outlaw tallness!”

“You can’t outlaw someone being tall. It’s an involuntary thing; no one can control their height.”

“W-well…I’ll outlaw…uh…”

While Zelda tried to think of a comeback, Link snuck behind Ganondorf and got onto his hands and knees. He caught Zelda’s gaze, giving a thumbs up.

Zelda grinned, drawing herself up to her full height. “Well, there is an advantage to being short.”

Ganondorf raised an eyebrow. “Oh?”

“We can do this!” She shoved her hands into Ganondorf’s chest, knocking him back.

His legs hit Link’s side and, unable to right himself, he crashed onto the ground with a grunt.

Link got up and he and Zelda high-fived.

“You’re so going to regret that,” Ganondorf muttered as he climbed to his feet. He grabbed Zelda, holding her against his chest, arm around her waist. “Now what are you going to do, Princess?”

“Oh, no!” Zelda swooned dramatically, hand going to her forehead. “The monster has ahold of me! Whatever shall I do?”

Link perked up, glancing around quickly before snatching up a nearby tree branch. Puffing up his chest to appear larger, Link pointed the branch at Ganondorf.

**I’ll save you, Princess! Release her, you fiend!**

“Hah! You think a scrawny hero like you could possible hope to stand up to the might of me, the Dark Lord?”

“Save me, brave hero!”

Ganondorf leaned down to grab a nearby branch so he could brandish it at Link.

The two began to smack the sticks against each other, Ganondorf moving forward while Link moved back before Ganondorf backed up as Link pushed forward.

Zelda played the damsel in distress, swooning at the right moments and cheering Link on.

This continued for a while before a sharp pain pierced Ganondorf’s chest as if he had been stabbed. He stopped with a grunt, dropping the stick.

Link paused, eyes widening in concern.

Zelda twisted to look at Ganondorf. “Gan? You okay?”

Ganondorf rubbed his chest as he released Zelda. The pain had come and gone as quickly as his headache earlier. “Y-yeah. We’ll finish this duel later, hero!”

Ganondorf shook a fist at Link before swinging an invisible cloak like he was doing a disappearing act.

Link rolled his eyes at the dramatics. **Shield surfing?**

“Right.” Zelda nodded. “How are we doing this?”

“We’ll all stand on it.” Ganondorf set the shield face down on the grass. “I’ll be in the middle. Link, you’re in the front. Zelda, the rear.”

“This doesn’t seem entirely safe,” Zelda muttered as they all got into their positions. The three of them barely managed to squeeze onto the shield.

“Generally, it’s a one-person deal. But where’s the fun in that?” Ganondorf grinned as he set his foot on the ground, pushing off to send them sliding down the bumpy hillside.

Zelda squeaked in alarm, gripping Ganondorf’s waist for dear life while the taller male laughed.

With minimal steering, the trio managed to avoid clipping any trees they passed.

The edge of the shield caught on a stone, sending the three tumbling to the bottom of the slope.

Link and Ganondorf were laughing breathlessly while Zelda appeared grateful to just be alive.

“Who’s up for round two?”

Link shot his hand up immediately.

“No, no!” Zelda made a crossing motion with her arms as she shook her head. “Once was enough for me.”

Ganondorf grunted. “Then what do you want to do, Princess?”

“How about we just…cloud watch?”

Ganondorf made a face while Link nodded ecstatically.

As the two laid on their backs, Ganondorf heaved a sigh as he laid between them, staring up at the fluffy white clouds drifting lazily across the blue sky.

Zelda pointed at a cloud. “I see a Blupee! See the ears?”

Link squinted at where she was pointing before he nodded. Then he pointed a cloud. **I see a bird. It has a long neck and big bill.**

“A heron?”

Link shook his head. **Not sure.**

Ganondorf stared at the clouds the two had pointed to, squinting and tilting his head side to side. He couldn’t see what they saw. All he saw were blobs. Fat, cloud blobs.

He sighed.

Perhaps he lacked imagination.

**I see a dragon. See, it looks like it’s sitting on a mountain.**

“Oh, I see!” Zelda clapped her hands before she looked at Ganondorf. “What do you see, Gan?”

“Huh, me?” Ganondorf blushed as he struggled to find a shape in the clouds. “Um…I see...a Chuchu?”

He pointed to one of the blobs and Link and Zelda stared at it.

“Well, it does look Chuchu-ish,” Zelda admitted.

Link nodded. He then pointed to another cloud. **Looks like two dudes fighting over something!**

Ganondorf stared at the clouds that Link was pointing to. He could kind of see two figures locked in combat. Ganondorf grunted as another headache struck him. He grit his teeth and closed his eyes, a bolt of lightning flashing behind his eyelids.

There was a sharp smell of blood and Ganondorf could hear the drip, dripping of something. See the ripples the drips caused.

**_An incarnation of my hatred shall ever follow your kind, dooming them to wander a blood-soaked sea of darkness for all time!_ **

“Gan?”

Ganondorf gasped, opening his eyes and looking beside him. Zelda and Link were both gazing at him in concern.

 **You okay?** Link asked.

Ganondorf rubbed his head and nodded. “Yeah. I think I just need a rest.”

“Okay. We’ll tell you when we’re ready to go.”

“Thanks.” Ganondorf threw an arm over his eyes to shield them from the sun.

After a few beats of silence, he asked, “Do you think we’ll be friends forever?”

Link and Zelda glanced at each other, not sure where the question had suddenly come from.

“Of course we’ll be friends forever,” Zelda murmured. “We’ll always be friends.”

 **Forever and ever,** Link added.

A faint smile crossed Ganondorf’s face. “I’m glad.”


	2. Arc 1: It Begins

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> warning for a cow birth?  
> ahah so avoid the first paragraph if you don't wanna read that.

Link continued to water the green leaves sprouting up from their rows.

It had been nearly a week since the shield surfing and the trio were still finding new ways to entertain themselves daily.

Once the growing crops were watered, Link entered the stable to feed the horses. He stopped by a young chestnut mare, patting her nose.

**Good morning, Epona.**

Epona snorted at Link, giving him a headbutt.

Link smiled at the greeting, running his hand through her mane before putting food in her bucket.

**Eat up.**

“Good morning, Link!”

Link perked up, turning at the voice to see Zelda entering the barn. **Good morning, Zelda.**

“All done?”

Link nodded.

“Then let’s go check on Gan!”

The two bolted from the farm, making their way towards Ganondorf’s family farm.

On first glance, the redhead didn’t appear to be outside so the duo made their way into the cow stable.

At the far corner, one of the Hateno cows was locked into a headshoot, lowing in discomfort.

Ganondorf stood behind the cow, shirt off and right arm shoved up to the shoulder in the cow’s rear end.

Link didn’t appear all that surprised at the strange situation but Zelda squeaked, covering her eyes.

“What are you doing to that poor cow?!”

Ganondorf gave a grunt, looking over the cow’s haunches to look at the duo. “Oh. Didn’t know you guys were here.”

He ducked back behind the cow.

“I’m helping Betty give birth. Calf is stuck.”

“D-do you really need your arm up…there?!”

“Only way to position the calf the correct way. You two gonna gawk or help?”

 **I’ll help,** Link said. **What do you need?**

“The bucket over there is clean, cool water. Take the chains and wash them in it.”

Link nodded, making his way over to the bucket Ganondorf gestured to with his free hand.

He was used to farm births. He had watched his horse, Epona, being born two years ago after all. It wasn’t anything new or unnatural.

Zelda peeked through her fingers before covering her eyes again. “I-I can feed the horses if you haven’t done that…”

Ganondorf rolled his eyes as he repositioned the calf’s head.

Princesses.

“Sure.”

Zelda quickly left the barn so she wouldn’t have to remain there any longer than necessary.

 **Where’s your dad?** Link asked after he had washed the chains.

“Market, selling things. Mother is out gathering more items for the farm. She can’t wait for them to return. The calf could die.”

Link nodded.

He understood. It probably wasn’t comfortable for the cow either.

Ganondorf held out his free hand. “Give me the chains.”

Link quickly handed the chains over to Ganondorf and watched as the redhead wrapped the chains around the calf’s hooves.

“Okay. Want to help pull?”

Link gave an eager nod. He stepped up behind Ganondorf as the other grabbed the chains with both hands. He held onto Ganondorf’s waist.

“On three. One, two…three!” Ganondorf began to pull on the chains and Link pulled on Ganondorf.

Betty gave a loud low in response to the pulling.

“I know, momma. Hang on another minute.”

When Ganondorf gave another pull, Link pulled with him.

After a few more tugs, the front half of the calf slid out.

“There we go. A bit more.”

Link nodded and continued to help Ganondorf pull.

They both stumbled when the calf finally slipped out the rest of the way and fell to the hay-covered ground.

Ganondorf gave a huff before he said, “Rub it with hay and get the mucus out of its nose and mouth. I have to make sure Betty has no other calf.”

Link nodded, getting on his knees to take off the chains before furiously rubbing the calf with some hay.

Ganondorf reinserted his arm into Betty to double-check the uterus. Once he was certain it was empty, he withdrew his arm, shaking it to clean off the fluids.

There was a tiny squeak and the calf sat up.

Link beamed, proud of himself.

Ganondorf opened the headshoot so Betty could go to her calf and clean it.

 **Do you get to name it?** Link asked.

Ganondorf kneeled by the calf, lifting its leg to check the sex, before he set the leg down.

“It’s a stud. Dad can sell it when it's old enough to breed it. He says naming it would make us attach to it or something.”

Link sulked. He helped clean the chains while Ganondorf splashed water on his arms to clean them off.

Zelda peeked around the corner of the barn door. “Is it over?”

“Yes, the gross part is over with, princess.”

Zelda slowly entered the barn, staring at the fluffy calf. “It’s cute.”

“For my first birthing, can’t say I didn’t do too bad.”

Zelda stared at Ganondorf in shock. “That was your first time doing this?!"

Ganondorf gave a shrug as he slipped his shirt over his head. “Dad usually does the births. I assist. He wasn’t here today, so I had to do it.”

**You did good. Your dad would be proud.**

Ganondorf smiled at Link’s praise before he said, “Okay, so, horses fed?”

“Yes! I fed them.”

"Good. Then that’s all my chores.”

**What shall we do today then?**

“We could visit the Sacred Grounds,” Zelda suggested.

Ganondorf and Link both made faces at that.

“Then what do you two suggest we do?”

Ganondorf gave a hum as he folded his arms. He suddenly grinned. “I heard of a cave at the prison yard that supposedly has hidden ruins beneath it.”

 **Where did you hear that?** Link asked.

“While I was doing laps today. The guards were talking about it.”

“And what if there are no secret ruins beneath the cave?” Zelda challenged.

“We could check out the quarry?” Ganondorf shrugged.

 **I heard it has awesome rocks!** Link signed eagerly.

Zelda hummed. “Well, both sound fun. Let’s try it.”

“I’ll show you where the cave is,” Ganondorf said, leading the two out of the barn.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It took less than a half hour to reach the prison yard, crossing over the moat bridge that connected Hyrule Field to the prison yard island. Ganondorf lead them through the small patch of forest on the island, a huge cave slowly standing before them.

Zelda and Link stared at the tall ceiling of the cave and the cave itself which ended at a dead end.

“It doesn’t go anywhere,” Zelda said, hands on her hips.

“The ruins are hidden. Look for some sort of entrance.” Ganondorf began patting the walls, searching for a secret passage.

After a second of staring, Zelda and Link did the same.

A few minutes of searching later, Ganondorf pushed back a piece of the rock wall, revealing a small, child-sized opening.

“Hey, I got something,” he said, kneeling by the opening.

Zelda and Link joined his side, staring into the opening.

“Do you think we can fit?”

Ganondorf hummed, getting onto his hands and knees. “One way to find out.”

Dropping onto his belly, Ganondorf began to slide into the hole. His shoulders barely scraped the top of the opening. After a bit of crawling, the tunnel opened up to a massive cave.

He stood up, brushing himself off, before he called, “Okay! I see a cave!”

Looking at each other, Link dropped to the ground and slid after Ganondorf. Once Link had gone through, Zelda followed.

As Zelda got to her feet, she gazed around the new cave in awe. “Wow. I can’t believe no one’s found this place.”

“The opening doesn’t accommodate adults,” Ganondorf said. “We’re lucky we fit.”

 **Let’s go explore!** Link signed excitedly, rushing off ahead of Zelda and Ganondorf.

“We don’t know what’s in here!” Zelda called after him.

He didn’t hear her or listen to her and Zelda huffed.

“Come on,” Ganondorf said, following Link. “We may as well follow. He’ll get lost without us.”

Zelda nodded, trailing after Ganondorf.

The cave was pretty dull. No different than the cave they had just left. After a ways of walking though, the trio came upon a series of crude drawings on the wall.

Zelda stared at the drawings in interest. “How interesting. Old cave drawings.”

“Looks like it was drawn by children,” Ganondorf grunted, squinting at the drawings. He saw some strange markings beneath the drawings. “What’s this? Looks like letters or something.”

Zelda looked at the markings as well. “Yeah. Doesn’t look like Hylian though.”

 **It’s Kokiri,** Link signed, putting a hand below a few letters.

“Kokiri?” Zelda asked. “You can read it?”

Link stared at the letters before he nodded. **Bits and pieces.**

“You can read a language we haven’t heard of?” Ganondorf asked skeptically.

**Don’t ask me how! I’m just as confused!**

“Well, what does it say?” Zelda breathed.

Link squinted at the faded letters, running his fingers below them as he mouthed to himself. After a bit, he nodded.

**It mentions a Gerudo that will try to steal the Triforce. A princess with the blood of a Goddess and a hero will stop him. He will change into a beast as a last resort and the two will slay him.**

“Gerudo?” Ganondorf grunted. “What’s a Gerudo?”

“Could be an ancient race that went extinct,” Zelda suggested.

“Wouldn’t they be mentioned in history books then?”

**I’ve never heard of them either.**

Ganondorf ran his hands below the drawing of what appeared to be someone wielding a sword and another wielding a bow, both of them facing off against a great, tusked beast.

Something constricted his chest, but he wasn’t sure if it was longing or nostalgia.

“There’s more cave over there,” Zelda said, pointing to the side. “Let’s check it out.”

Ganondorf was brought out of his thoughts as the two trotted deeper into the cave. Sparing one more glance at the drawings, he followed after his friends.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

After spending hours exploring the nooks and crannies of the strange cave, the trio left to return to Castle Town.

They had found a deposit of luminous stones which they couldn’t take with them as they had no means to chip the stones from their wall.

Link suggested the next time they visit that they make sure to bring a hammer to harvest the stones.

With the sun still high, the trio snuck into the castle again to hang out in the library. Ganondorf had never been in a place filled to the brim with so many books.

Zelda already appeared to be in heaven, gathering multiple books to read.

Link skimmed several books before replacing them and choosing another to flip through.

After a bit of searching, Ganondorf found a dusty, leather-bound book. The title was faded so much he couldn’t read it.

It piqued his interest and after asking Zelda, she relented that he could take it so long as he returned it in the same condition he found it in.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Lighting a candle, Ganondorf settled himself on the floor. Opening the book, he found that it was a history book with events dating all the way back to the Era of the Sky.

He read through everything, fascinated by the words written in the pages. He paused when he saw a familiar word.

“Gerudo...”

They were desert people, all women. But every century or so, a male—their king—was born. But the king was evil and would try to take over Hyrule by stealing the Triforce.

Ganondorf rested his chin on his arms.

Desert people. There was a desert to the south of Hyrule, past Digdogg Suspension Bridge, but no one lived there. There were only ruins.

“Perhaps they are extinct then…”

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------

_The feeling of her warmth against his chest made him happy. He continued his guttural, demonic lullaby, stroking his clawed fingers through her long blonde hair._

_She stirred. “Demise?”_

_“Go back to sleep, my light.”_

_She settled back against his chest with a soft grunt._

_\---------------------------------------------------------------------------_

_“Good morning, Your Grace.”_

_"How do you do, Your Grace?”_

_“You look ravishing today, Your Grace.”_

_Demise watched the Hylians gathering around Hylia in the streets below, their multitude of voices drifting up to him._

_“Look at them, Ghirahim. Gathering around her like moths to a flame.”_

_Ghirahim nimbly skipped over to his master’s side, flicking his white hair out of his eyes as he gazed down at the mass below. “They don’t speak to her like they should, master.”_

_“I’ve noticed. They treat her like a friend when they should revere her. She is a God, not a mortal.”_

_“I echo your sentiment, master.”_

_Demise sniffed as he continued to watch the Hylians flocking around their beloved Goddess._

_A Hylian dressed differently than the others worked his way through the crowd, dressed like a knight and armed with a sword._

_Demise narrowed his eyes at the newcomer who began to speak to Hylia, whatever he was saying causing her to laugh. “Who is that?”_

_Ghirahim leaned against the wall, crossing his arms as he gazed at the Hylian below out of the corner of his eye. “A bird Hylia has taken under her wing.”_

_"He treats Hylia as a friend,” Demise grunted, turning and striding outside._

_There was something about that Hylian that he did not like._

_Ghirahim followed after his master, anticipating a fight._

_“Hylia,” Demise called as he approached Hylia and the Hylian. He narrowed his eyes when they landed on the sword strapped across the male’s back._

_The Master Sword. The bane of his existence._

_“Why does he have the Master Sword?” Demise asked tightly._

_“Fi has chosen him as her master,” Hylia explained, setting a hand on Demise’s arm. “It’s not what you think.”_

_"How is it not what I think?! He has the one blade that can end my life. Do you truly believe I would betray you?”_

_"No!” Hylia shook her head. “Of course not, Demise.”_

_“You should just accept the fact that I have the Master Sword,” the Hylian huffed, crossing his arms._

_Demise growled at the blond while Hylia hissed, “Link!”_

_“You better watch your mouth, mortal,” Ghirahim said. “You’re speaking to the King of Demons.”_

_“I know exactly who I’m speaking to,” Link snapped. “The demon that will destroy the world.”_

_Demise clenched his hands. “I see how it is.”_

_“Demise,” Hylia murmured, reaching out to Demise as the demon turned._

_Demise pulled his arm away from Hylia, pinning her with a glare before he stormed back to the castle._

_Ghirahim scowled at Link then followed after Demise._

_Hylia sighed, arm dropping to her side. She could feel the change in Demise’s fate._

_Link grunted, crossing his arms. “Who does he think he is…?”_

_“He’s Demise, the Demon King. And now I fear for him.”_

**_For us._ **

\------------------------------------------------------------------------

_Demise grumbled as he sat on the bed, holding his head in his hands._

_“Why did it have to be someone like him? She must think I’m a danger. But why? She…loves me, right?”_

**_Are you sure about that? She allowed someone to take the Master Sword, your weakness. Why would she do that if she truly loved you?_ **

_"Perhaps it was a mistake…”_

**_How could it be? Admit it, she doesn’t love you. She was learning your weaknesses and now she has that Hylian by her side._ **

_Demise groaned, gritting his teeth. “You’re lying.”_

**_You can get power. Power to show everyone you are not to be trifled with. The Triforce._ **

_“Triforce….?”_

_**Hylia’s precious thing. Take that and you can show them. Show everyone.** _

_Demise slowly lifted his head. “The Triforce…yes, I can show her….I’m not to be trifled with.”_

_A yellow eye with a slit pupil opened up behind Demise._

**_I think we’re going to be good friends, Demise._ **

****

_They saw the monsters before they heard the declaration of war._

_Leading the mass of Moblins, Bokoblins, and Lizalfos was Demise, armed to the teeth in glinting black armor._

_Hylia frowned as she watched the approaching army, clenching her hands against her chest._

_Her heart ached for the Demise she no longer knew._

_Link stepped up to Hylia’s side. “You should focus on protecting your people and the Triforce. I’ll keep him distracted as long as I can.”_

_Hylia tore her gaze from Demise and nodded. “Be safe.”_

_Link nodded and left to meet Demise on the battlefield._

_Demise sneered at the sight of the Hylian, holding out his gigantic jagged blade towards Link. “Out of my way or face your death.”_

_Link withdrew the Master Sword, getting into a fighting stance. “You’ll have to get past me if you want the Triforce or Hylia.”_

_Demise growled. “Then you have chosen death.”_

_Link steeled himself for the oncoming battle. Fi had already warned him about the percent chance of him coming out of the fight alive._

_0.01%_

_He was willing to take that chance._

_Link lunged towards Demise. “For Hylia!”_

_\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------_

_Hylia continued to stare at the clouds where she had sent her people and the Triforce. Both out of reach of Demise’s grasp._

_She turned at the sound of footfalls behind her, spotting Demise approaching._

_His armor was shed. In one hand he carried the Master Sword and the other he dragged a lifeless Link by the leg._

_“You ought to have better guards, Hylia,” Demise grunted as he tossed Link at Hylia. “And this?”_

_He held up the Master Sword, gripping the blade in his free hand. He then snapped the blade in two._

_“Pathetic workmanship even for you.”_

_Hylia grit her teeth as Demise dropped the pieces to the ground._

_Her knight, slaughtered. Her blade, shattered._

_This couldn’t be her Demise._

_She summoned a glittering bow to her hands, a golden arrow appearing in a flash of light when she drew back the bowstring._

_“Demise, the Triforce is out of your reach. Please, it’s not too late to stop this.”_

_Not too late to change fate._

_Demise pointed his sword at Hylia. “No. I need the Triforce. Nothing you do will stop me.”_

_Hylia released the arrow, the point sinking into Demise’s shoulder._

_Demise grimaced but he began to walk closer to Hylia._

_“I don’t want to do this, but you’ve left me no choice.” Hylia placed her hand against the ground, a bright light shooting up from it before fading away to reveal a sealing circle directly below Demise’s feet._

_Demise glared down at it, taking a step back before he tossed his sword out of the circle in an arc._

**_I’ll require your assistance from the outside, Ghirahim. Don’t fail me._ **

_A sealing stone pierced the center of Demise’s forehead, forcing the Demon King beneath the earth in a flash of light._

_The stone glowed a few times before falling dark._

_Hylia approached the stone, setting a hand on top of it before setting her forehead on it._

_“I’m sorry, my love. Perhaps one day we can rectify this. Change our fates. I pray for that day to come.”_

_She pressed her lips to the stone before approaching the body of Link, kneeling beside him and setting a hand on his forehead._

_“And you, Link, sacrificed your life for me. This will not be forgotten. Your courageous soul shall be reborn and I shall be by your side, as a mortal.”_

_\--------------------------------------------------------------------------_

The smell of smoke awoke Ganondorf and he rapidly sat up with a gasp, looking around.

He saw flames licking at the edges of the yellowed history book pages.

Rapidly, he patted them to smother them before checking the book over.

Other than the slightly burned corners, the book was all right.

Ganondorf sighed as he shut the book, hoping no one would notice the minor damage.

A flash caught his attention and Ganondorf glanced down at his right hand to see a sight that filed him with dread.

The Triforce, the top triangle lit up brightly, setting a glow on his face.

Ganondorf grunted, covering his hand with his other hand as if to try and smother the Triforce.

“Why do you continue to torment me?” He dug his nails into his skin. “I don’t want this…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for any mistakes. I hope you enjoy xD  
> I'm gonna work on the next chapter of I See You soon.


	3. Arc 1: Run, run away

Zelda and Link laughed as they raced each other to Ganondorf’s farm, shoving each other as they tried to get ahead of the other.

They slowed down once they entered the farm, searching for Ganondorf.

“He’s still in his room, kids,” Ganondorf’s mother said from the kitchen window. “Why don’t you go wake him?”

Ganondorf’s mother, Irea, was a nice lady with brown hair always up in a bun and brown eyes that always twinkled when she smiled. She made the best wildberry pie.

“Thank you, Mrs. Dragmire!” Zelda said, smiling at Irea.

 **Thank you,** Link signed, following after Zelda as they entered the house.

“Of course. You children be safe now!”

“Okay!”

Together, they headed to the second floor and down to Ganondorf’s room, the door easily recognizable by the _Ganondorf’s Room_ plaque hung up.

Zelda knocked on the door.

With a small gasp, Ganondorf snapped his head up, glancing back at the door. He was sitting against it to prevent easy opening of the door.

“Gan?” Zelda asked. “Are you awake?”

Ganondorf didn’t answer for a few seconds before he said, “Yeah. I’m awake. I’m…”

He glanced down at his right hand, blood dimming the glow of the Triforce.

“I’m sick. Must be a stomach bug.”

Link looked at Zelda, frowning.

**Sick?**

The entire time they had known Ganondorf, he wasn’t one to let an illness stop him from completing his chores. It must have been some stomach bug if he was willingly staying in his room.

“I guess,” Zelda muttered to Link before asking Ganondorf, “Are you all right? Do you want something?”

“No. I’m…I just…I should rest today. Perhaps it’s a 24-hour thing.”

“Oh.” Zelda looked down, disappointed. Then she grinned. “Will you promise to come play tomorrow if you feel better?”

Ganondorf grit his teeth, glancing down at the Triforce once more. He closed his eyes, sighing. “Yes, Zelda. I promise.”

Zelda smiled at Link who nodded. “Okay. We’ll see you tomorrow. Feel better!”

“Okay…”

Ganondorf listened to the footsteps leaving and once they had gone he sighed, hugging his legs to his chest and dropping his forehead on his knees.

“Oh, poor dear. Sick, huh?” Irea wiped her hands on a towel. “I’ll be sure to whip up something for him to eat.”

“Thank you, Mrs. Dragmire.” Zelda gave a curtsey before she ran out, Link giving a wave as they left. “See you tomorrow!”

“See you later, dearies.”

Ganondorf’s father spread out more feed for the cuccos before he stopped, narrowing his eyes as he watched Link and Zelda leave. He looked up towards Ganondorf’s window.

Scattering more feed for the birds, he replaced the bag in the storage container before he left.

It took little time for him to find a knight guarding the entrance to the city gates where he whispered something in the man’s ear.

The knight nodded, saluting. “Thank you for the information, sir Draco. We will pass it along and retrieve the…issue.”

\--------------------------------------------------------------------

Once he was done with his chores the next day, Link visited Ganondorf’s farm once more. He searched the barn and the cucco coop but saw no sign of Ganondorf.

“There you are, Link,” Zelda greeted as she approached the blond. “Did you see him?”

Link shook his head. **Still in his room?**

“Let’s go see.”

They went inside and up to Ganondorf’s room. The door was wide open, bed neatly made.

Zelda peeked in but saw no one. “Where could he be?”

Link shrugged. **Ask father?**

Zelda clapped her hands. “Excellent thinking.”

They returned outside and found Draco feeding the cows.

“Mr. Dragmire?”

Draco straightened, looking over at the two with a raised eyebrow.

“We were wondering where Ganon has gone.”

“You just missed him,” Draco grunted, turning back to feeding the cows. “He left to start his own farm in Hateno.”

“What?!” Zelda squeaked while Link signed incredulously **No way! He would have told us!**

“Look, if he didn’t tell you, that isn’t my fault.” Draco dropped the feed bag, turning to face the two. “He left. He’s never coming back.”

Zelda was about to say something but Link grabbed her shoulder. He shook his head, pulling her with him as they left the farm.

“Link! You don’t actually believe him, do you?!”

 **Of course not! None of that made any sense!** Link scowled. **But I don’t know where else he would be.**

Zelda sighed, shoulders slumping. “Me either….”

\---------------------------------------------------------------------

“So, this is what you do now? Lock people up for a crime they could possibly commit?”

Ganondorf watched as the guard latched the second manacle on his wrist.

He really hadn’t expected to be grabbed by the guards and dragged down to the dungeons beneath the castle.

“Oh no, you’re just special,” one guard said, sneering at Ganondorf as he crossed his arms.

He grinned at the sight of the great King of Darkness chained against the wall like a common thief.

“I hope you enjoy yourself down here. You’re never going to see the light of day again.”

“Not so tough now, are you, beast?” another guard challenged.

“We should have done this a long time ago.”

Ganondorf remained quiet, eyeing the three guards standing several feet away from him. He raised up one hand, electricity crackling between his fingers, before he released the built-up energy at one of the guards.

It wasn’t a killing blow, but the force of the magic sent the guard into the bars of the cell.

The other two guards gasped as they watched their companion fall to the floor.

“Dave!”

“How dare you!” the other guard snarled, whipping around to glare at Ganondorf.

Ganondorf blinked innocently, rattling the chains keeping him pinned to the wall. “I’m sorry. I can’t do anything chained up like this. Is your friend okay?”

The guard responded by delivering a heavy punch to Ganondorf’s stomach, causing the teen to drop his weight against the chains with a grunt.

“You think you’re so clever, huh? We’re not the ones chained up.”

Dave got up with a groan, shaking his head before he approached Ganondorf along with the other two guards.

All three looked ready to murder.

_This is going to hurt…_

_\----------------------------------------------------------------------_

Zelda sighed as she climbed into bed, dropping her hands on her lap and frowning at them.

It had been several days since Ganondorf had supposedly left for Hateno, but it still didn’t sit right with her or Link.

Ganondorf wouldn’t have just up and left without telling them goodbye.

 _Why would his father lie then?_ Zelda wondered, glancing outside.

The town was on high alert as the full moon slowly rose, bathed in a blood red hue.

The blood moon.

A strange phenomenon no one had figured out quite yet. Its power made monsters more vicious and brought the ones killed back to life. No one knew why it existed. It had always just _been._

Clasping her hands together, Zelda closed her eyes.

_Hylia, where is Gan? Please send me a sign to his location._

Zelda remained silent for several seconds before she opened an eye. She dropped her hands with a sigh.

“Well, that was stupid…”

Just as she was about to blow out the candle beside her bed to turn in, the candle’s flame flickered sharply before extinguishing itself.

Startled, Zelda leaned back as whispers began to start around her.

**_Find him…_ **

**_Power has awoken…._ **

Zelda gazed around at the whispers swirling around her, a voice more prominent than the others.

**_Hurry! He must not bathe in the blood light!_ **

A bright glow lit up the room and Zelda glanced down to see the Triforce resting on her right hand, the lower left corner lit up bright.

“The Triforce!”

The glow dimmed but a faint pulse began to pound in her hand.

Zelda brought the hand close to her face, staring at the Triforce.

“Will you show me where he is?”

Another pulse was her answer and Zelda scrambled out of bed, leaving her room. She used the Triforce as a dowsing rod.

The pulsing got stronger at the doors leading to the dungeon and Zelda pushed the door open.

“In here?”

She padded down the stairs, holding out her hand.

The pulsing intensified before it faded and Zelda saw Ganondorf in one of the cells.

She gasped, running to the cell and grabbing the bars. “Gan!”

Ganondorf glanced up when he heard his name, staring at the glowing form of Hylia standing on the other side of the bars.

“Songbird?”

The form faded and he saw Zelda standing in Hylia’s place. He straightened in surprise.

“Zelda?! What are you doing here?!"

“What am I doing here?!” Zelda scoffed at the question, beginning to yank on the cell door. “What are _you_ doing here?!”

“I…uh….”

“Princess?”

Both heads whipped around to spot a young guard staring at Zelda in confusion.

A red light slipped in through the windows and began to coat the room, shining from the blood moon.

Ganondorf grunted as he slid his feet back from the light.

The blood moon had always given him headaches, but this night he had none. He didn’t want to find out why.

The guard approached Zelda and she looked between him and Ganondorf.

“I am so sorry about this,” she muttered, before rushing the guard and knocking him down, giving one good punch to knock him out.

“I didn’t know you could do that,” Ganondorf said, impressed as Zelda shook her hand.

“Me either.” She grabbed the keys and returned to the door, opening it and running into the cell. She tried the keys in the shackles. “Your dad said you left to Hateno!”

“Huh? No, I was captured and taken here.”

“Why?!”

“You _know_ why.”

Zelda glanced up at him. She knew why. She could feel his Triforce. Was that why he acted like he was sick? Was he ashamed?

She shook her head then continued trying the keys.

“Why are there so many godforsaken keys?!”

“Princess!”

Ganondorf lifted his head as Zelda looked behind her.

Another guard stood at the entrance, wielding a spear.

As the guard began to approach the two, the blood moon’s light reached Ganondorf’s head and he grunted at the sensation of power crackling through his veins.

He closed his eyes then opened them, the color changed from gold to a bright yellow, pupils slitted.

“Duck down, Zelda.”

Zelda barely had time to react when Ganondorf yanked one arm forward, chains going taut. He did it two more times and the chains were yanked from their post in the wall.

With one chain free, Ganondorf swung the end at the guard, striking him in the head.

Zelda uncovered her head, glancing at the fallen guard before grabbing Ganondorf’s arm. “Are you okay?”

“Fine.” Ganondorf grunted, yanking the other chain out of the wall. He quickly wrapped the chains around his arms. “We need to leave. _Now._ ”

Zelda nodded and together, she and Ganondorf raced out of the dungeons.

The light from the blood moon lasted only an hour and it faded as they made their way into the hallway.

Apparently, the guard had been alerted as several were roaming the hall. They startled at the appearance of Ganondorf and Zelda.

“There he is!” one said, pointing towards Ganondorf.

“He has the princess!"

“Get him!”

"This way,” Zelda said, grabbing Ganondorf’s hand to lead him in a different direction.

She led him through twists and turns, taking a shortcut through the dining hall.

Without the light of the blood moon on him, Ganondorf felt drained but he forced himself to keep running. If he stopped, he was as good as dead.

Finally, they exited the castle, several guards on their heels. An alarm had sounded, several houses in the RO lighting their candles so they could see what the hubbub was about.

Ganondorf knew they couldn’t outrun the guards. The gates would be closed before they could ever reach them.

Glancing around, he spotted a white mare tackled nearby and he pulled Zelda towards it.

“What are you doing?” Zelda asked as Ganondorf shoved her into the saddle.

He climbed into the saddle in front of Zelda, grabbing the reins. “Getting out of here!”

The horse reared up when Ganondorf slapped the reins, forcing Zelda to grab onto Ganondorf to prevent being thrown off, before it cantered off.

The guards were shouting, several grabbing their own horses to chase after them.

The alarm had woken up Link, who wandered outside half-asleep, rubbing his eyes. As he rounded the corner of his house, his eyes widened at the sight of the white horse galloping past, Ganondorf and Zelda in its saddle.

Seconds later, multiple guards galloped past on their own horses.

Quickly, Link ran to the stable, unlatching Epona’s stable door. He saddled her then climbed onto her, kicking her into gear to race after the guards.

The horse’s hooves pounded on the cobblestone as it left the gates separating Castle Town from the castle moat bridge.

The gates scraped to a halt, halfway closed, allowing the guards to continue their pursuit.

One guard caught up to Ganondorf, galloping beside the horse, and raised a sword.

Ganondorf lifted a leg and kicked the guard off the horse.

Another guard pulled up to the other side of the horse and before Ganondorf could do anything, Zelda shoved the guard off his horse.

“I’m sorry!” she squeaked, looking after the guard she had pushed.

“Don’t apologize to them!” Ganondorf grunted, keeping eyes out for more guards.

“But…I don’t want to hurt them…”

“They want to hurt us!”

As a third guard pulled up, Link caught up to the guard’s other side, pinning him between Epona and the white mare. Together, he and Ganondorf both punched the guard in the face.

“Link!” Zelda gasped at the sight of the blond.

Link grinned and waved.

“Come to join the party?!” Ganondorf asked as Link kept pace beside them.

**Doesn’t seem like my type of party.**

Ganondorf laughed before he grunted when something pierced his shoulder. He looked to see an arrow jutting out of his right shoulder.

The guard that had fired notched another arrow.

Link slowed down to catch the guard, promptly smashing his elbow in the guard’s face before snatching his bow and taking a few arrows from the quiver.

He turned, loaded an arrow, then fired at a guard before he did another arrow, firing at a guard that had appeared from behind a tree.

Both arrows struck the guards in the chest, knocking them from their horses.

 _Still a scary shot._ Ganondorf thought as Link dumped the bow.

Link caught up to Ganondorf and Zelda. **Where to?**

“Hylia Bridge,” Ganondorf grunted. “There’s a small section beneath the bridge where we can hide out of sight.”

Link nodded.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------

After nearly four hours of traveling, the three reached the enormous stone bridge spanning across Lake Hylia.

They slowed their horses and slid down from the saddles, leading them down the serpentine decline.

Zelda looked up as they got to the bottom, allowing the horses to drink.

Ganondorf was right; it was out of sight. She hoped it would allow them to rest without being caught.

Ganondorf sat down, working on trying to pry off the shackles around his wrists while Link gathered sticks to start a fire.

“Let me,” Zelda murmured, kneeling beside Ganondorf. She took a bobby pin out of her hair and stuck it in the keyhole.

“Do I want to know how you learned to pick locks?” Ganondorf grunted, the first shackle coming off after a few wiggles of the pin.

Zelda just smiled at him and he rolled his eyes.

Sheikah.

The second manacle fell beside the first and Ganondorf rubbed his wrists. “Thanks.”

“No problem.” Zelda picked up the chains and tossed into the lake. “Let me get the arrow too.”

He had forgotten about that.

Crouching behind him, Zelda grabbed the arrow shaft and without warning she yanked it out, arrowhead and all.

“ _Ow_!” Ganondorf hissed, glaring at Zelda over his shoulder as she tossed the arrow to the ground.

“It’s not supposed to be pleasant.”

Grumbling, Ganondorf winced as Zelda began to clean the wound with a wet strip of cloth.

“Thanks….for taking the arrow.”

“Not like I did it on purpose, princess. I’m just a bigger target.”

Zelda frowned, halting in her motions briefly before she continued wiping the wound. “I got you into more trouble. Now they think you kidnapped me.”

“Even if you had explained it to them, they probably would have thought that.”

Zelda gently put her fingers next to the arrow wound. “I’m sorry we don’t have any salve or dressings.”

“It’s fine. Next stable we can get it fixed up.” He turned to smile at her. “Thank you for finding me.”

“It wasn’t me who found you.”

Ganondorf was about to say something but he saw something out of the corner of his eye and snapped, “Link! What the hell are you doing?!”

Link froze like a deer in the torchlight, holding the arrow above the water. He frowned before signing, **Getting fish? Dinner?**

“With the arrow that shot Gan?!” Zelda asked, appearing disgusted.

**I washed it off.**

“You’re impossible,” Ganondorf mumbled as Link returned to spearing fish with the arrow.

“It’s like he was raised by wolves,” Zelda huffed, folding her arms.

After several minutes, Link caught some fish and speared them onto sticks before positioning them over the fire.

“Where will we go?” Zelda asked, looking away from the cooking fish.

Link looked at Ganondorf who realized the two were looking for him to lead them.

Ganondorf rubbed the back of his neck. “I was thinking Akkala.”

**Akkala?**

“Yeah. We went to Hylia Bridge.” Ganondorf traced the bridge above them. “They’ll expect us to continue to Faron, not turn around. Akkala is safer. I heard about a small town that we could stay low in.”

“Tarrey Town?” Zelda asked and Ganondorf nodded. “That is a small place. We may be able to blend in there.”

“On our way to Akkala, we should pass a stable. Once there, we’ll get supplies, disguises, and weapons. Monsters roam a lot of places we’ll probably pass.”

**What about a map?**

"A map? Yes, that would be good as well.”

“Whatever we can get, we’ll get,” Zelda agreed.

Ganondorf gave a nod as Link pulled off the fish, handing one to him and then Zelda. He blew on the fish to cool it off before sinking his teeth into the crispy flesh.

Zelda stared at her fish uncertainly before she took a small bite. She gasped at the taste. “Wow! This is amazing, Link!”

Link appeared embarrassed, rubbing the back of his neck. **It’s nothing.**

“It’s good,” Ganondorf grunted, flicking fish bones into the lake. “Even though it has not flavoring, putting it over the fire brought out its own natural taste.”

“It’s really incredible, Link. You’re a natural cook.”

Link waved a hand at them, looking down.

Something shot towards Ganondorf, hitting him in the head and knocking him on his back.

“Gan!” Zelda gasped in alarm.

“Ow!” Ganondorf rubbed his head before picking up the chains, recognizing them as the shackles. “What the…?”

“Stop throwing your damn trash in our lake!” a voice shouted.

The three looked towards the lake to see a brightly colored Zora floating several feet away.

“A Lake Zora,” Zelda whispered.

She remembered learning about them. While the Domain Zora had more of warm-colored scales—red, black, dark blue—the Lake Zora were bright colors that ranged from yellow to pink. They fed on the freshwater fish in the lake as well as the Lizalfos that sometimes swam in the waters.

Two more Zora—a yellow one with a cut off headtail and a purple one with a missing eye—popped up beside the first.

“Keep your stupid trash!” the yellow one yelled, shaking a fist at the three.

“Why don’t you go somewhere else?!” the purple one snapped.

“I-I’m sorry we threw trash in your home, Zora,” Zelda said, standing up and moving to the water’s edge, bowing several times. “But we have nowhere else to sleep for the night. I promise we’ll be gone in the morning.”

The embroidery on Zelda’s nightgown caught one of the Zora’s eyes and they turned to their companions, whispering to them. They gasped and looked back at Zelda.

“Fine,” the first Zora grunted, crossing her arms, green scales catching the moonlight. “First thing in the morning though!”

“We promise! Thank you!”

The Zora turned, diving into the water and disappearing beneath it.

“What do we do with these now?” Ganondorf asked, holding up the chains.

Zelda frowned. It would be strange to carry them around without raising some questions.

 **We could sell them,** Link suggested. **They’re good silver. Could be melted down and made into a weapon.**

“Link’s right. Someone’s bound to want them.”

Sighing, Ganondorf stared at the chains before he nodded. “If you say so. I hope you’re right.”

Once they had finished their dinner, they turned in for the night.

It was nice for Ganondorf to finally sleep laying down even if it was on hard ground. He wasn’t sure how Zelda would handle it though as he was certain she was used to a soft bed.

Link could sleep anywhere.

Ganondorf glanced at the two who appeared to be asleep before he went back to staring at the stars in the sky.

He hoped the journey would be quick and simple but he knew it wouldn’t be. It was never that easy.

Turning on his left side, Ganondorf closed his eyes to sleep.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The sun was peeking over the mountain ranges in the distance when Ganondorf was awoken by a change in the air.

He sat up, glancing around as the hairs on his arms stood up.

There was an electricity in the air that didn’t seem to be bothering Link or Zelda.

There was a splash from the lake and Ganondorf whipped his head towards the noise, expecting one of the Zora from the night before, but he instead saw a green horn erupting from the water’s surface.

At first it was a single jagged horn then it was a monstrous head that lifted itself up from the lake.

Ganondorf gasped as the dragon’s serpentine body followed its head, water falling from its scales and glinting in the early morning light, six legs clawing at the air to lift it up.

_Farosh._

Farosh was a messenger of the Goddess of Courage, Farore. Typically, it was a gentle dragon, the electricity sparking from its body a defense mechanism that it couldn’t control.

Farosh’s eye swiveled down to stare directly at Ganondorf, a low rumble erupting from the dragon’s throat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for any mistakes. I didn't go into depth of checking for mistakes.  
> Also for I See You, I'll get the third chapter up as soon as I can.


	4. Arc 1: Demise, Sheik, and Raven

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What's this an update within a week and not two weeks? I am good xD

Ganondorf continued to stare at the dragon in awe as it rose into the early morning sky higher, sunlight gleaming of its white scales.

Its single horn glowed with an internal light.

Farosh kept its gaze on Ganondorf but gave a low growl in the back of its throat, shaking its head. Something fell off, landing several feet from Ganondorf.

Slowly, Ganondorf stood and made his way to the item, picking it up. It was a scale, rough and white. Rubbing it with his thumb, Ganondorf could feel the internal electricity that rested within.

Startled at the gift, Ganondorf looked back at Farosh as the dragon arced over Hylia Bridge.

“What do you have there, Gan?” Zelda asked, approaching the redhead.

He showed the scale to her and she gasped.

“You have…a dragon’s scale?!”

"Yes.”

“Farosh just…gave it to you?”

Ganondorf nodded as Link came to look at the scale as well.

 **What do we do with it?** Link asked, taking the scale and flipping it over to look at the green underside. **Sell it?**

Zelda gave a horrified gasp as she snatched the scale from the blond. “Are you crazy?! _Sell_ a scale gifted by a messenger of the goddesses?!”

Link gave a shrug, apparently not seeing an issue with the idea.

“We’ll keep it for now,” Ganondorf said. “Perhaps the meaning of the scale will become apparent later on.”

Zelda gave an agreeing nod while Link rolled his eyes.

Tucking the scale into a pocket, Ganondorf picked up the chains. “The nearest stable is Riverside. It’ll be a three hour ride, so let’s eat light. We can get food there.”

“I heard they offer food to make meals. I bet we could make something very delicious.”

 **I hope so,** Link signed as he stretched. He rubbed his back. **Beds too.**

“If we can find things to sell for Rupees, let’s do that.” Ganondorf grunted as he got into the saddle of the white horse. “We’ll need it if we’re going to buy anything.”

Zelda nodded, getting into the saddle behind Ganondorf.

They needed a lot of things to survive their journey to Akkala.

A map, weapons, different clothes, pouches….

She sighed.

It would cost a lot.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

After Link dumped their extinguished firewood in a place that wouldn’t offend the Lake Zora, the three made their way to Hylia Bridge.

With no means to hunt, they could only obtain apples from a nearby apple tree. There was enough for each of them and the horses as well.

With their bellies decently filled, the three headed towards Riverside Stable at a trot, trying to cut down as much time as possible.

And within three hours, the stable came into view, wooden horse head on the structure’s roof making it an easy find.

Ganondorf pulled the horse to a stop, sliding down. “I’ll trade the horse. Why don’t you two find a merchant?”

Zelda nodded as Ganondorf handed her the chains.

“See if they’ll take these, even for free.”

“All right.”

Link tied Epona to a nearby tree, patting her neck before joining Zelda.

Taking the reins, Ganondorf lead the horse over to the window between the two entrances of the stable.

A bored-looking man stood there, tapping the wood impatiently.

“Excuse me.”

At Ganondorf’s voice the man perked up instantly, a smile crossing his face. “Welcome to Riverside Stable! Would you like to board a horse or register one?”

“I’d like to trade one for two of your finest horses.”

The man stared at Ganondorf suspiciously before he looked at the horse and a strangled noise came out of his mouth. “Is—is that—?!”

“Can I trade or not? This is kind of urgent.”

While the man’s expression was amusing, Ganondorf didn’t want to waste time. He needed at least one target off his back.

The man swallowed and nodded hastily. The redhead’s height was intimidating. “Of course. You can pick any two you want.”

“Thank you.” Ganondorf left the horse by the man who gaped at it.

The horse flicked its ears at him in response.

Off to the side of the stable were three horses in a small stable: a plain brown one with a gray mane, a blue one with white speckles on its haunches and a beige mane, and a golden one with a brown mane.

“Good morning, sir!” the ranch hand chirped, smiling as Ganondorf observed the horses. “Does one interest you?”

“That one.” Ganondorf pointed to the blue horse.

“Bluebell? She’s got a great temperament and doesn’t spook at monsters.”

“Excellent.”

While the ranch hand went to get Bluebell saddled and bridled, Ganondorf stared at the other two horses, rubbing his chin.

He was about to pick one when a loud whinny sounded nearby.

“Hold it still!”

“It’s too huge!”

"This thing’s been struggling since Taobab Grasslands!”

Going to see what all the fuss was, Ganondorf saw three men struggling to rope a large, black horse twice the size of a regular horse.

Its mane and tail were a bright orange. Its neigh sounded more like a roar.

The horse reared up against the men trying to subdue it, snorting angrily.

Ganondorf’s eyes widened as he recognized the amber gaze. “No way…”

Running over, Ganondorf pushed the men aside.

“Move! Let me try!”

“Are you nuts, kid?!” one guy asked. “It’s wild!”

Ganondorf ignored the men as he held up his hands. “Hey, hey.”

The horse reared up again, whinnying.

“Easy, that’s it.”

Stomping side to side, the horse snorted and shook its head.

Slowly, Ganondorf set his hand on the horse’s nose, stroking it. “Good boy…”

He put his hand beneath the horse’s jaw, smiling as it flicked its ears.

“Yes, that’s right. You recognize me, don’t you, boy?”

“Whoa, he calmed it down,” one man mumbled in disbelief.

“How did he do it?”

"Is he for sale?” Ganondorf looked at the men who all glanced at each other.

“Well, the horse has been passed from stable to stable,” one said. “It’s so wild no one could ride it.”

“I’ll take him. Does he have a saddle and bridle?”

“Well…someone managed to make one, yes, but you don’t want _this_ horse.”

“It’s a monster!”

Ganondorf rolled his eyes as he scratched the horse’s neck. “Are you really going to deny me? Surely you want him off your hands.”

The men glanced at each other, mumbling uncertainly.

“If you want him so bad, you can have him,” one finally said.

“Your funeral,” another mumbled.

The three went off to get the saddle and bridle.

Ganondorf smiled as he looked up at the giant black horse, patting its neck. “Good to see you again, Helltrotter.”

Helltrotter snorted, nipping at Ganondorf’s hair.

While Ganondorf was busy with the horse transferring, Zelda and Link were searching for a merchant.

It was harder than it sounded as it appeared no merchant was currently at the stable.

“Oh, what now?” Zelda sighed as their fifth non-merchant traveler walked away. “What if no merchant comes?”

Link gave a shrug as he glanced around. He saw someone approaching in the distance, laden by a large pack. He perked up, pointing towards them.

**That could be a merchant! Who else would have such a large pack?**

Zelda stared at the person as well before she nodded. “I think you’re right. Let’s approach them.”

Together they walked towards the merchant.

Link saw the shape of the pack more clearly as they got closer and he gave an excited grin, waving an arm rapidly.

The merchant saw Link and he returned the wave. “Hellooo! Link!”

“You know him?” Zelda asked, glancing at him.

Link nodded. **Beedle. My parents sold their crops to him.**

“Hello, Link!” Beedle greeted as he stopped before them. “What are you doing way out here?”

Link looked at Zelda quickly before he signed nervously, **Adventure?**

“Oh, you and your girlfriend are adventuring?”

Zelda blushed deeply and looked like she wanted to disappear.

Link was just as embarrassed at the statement, hastily signing, **Not—not my girlfriend. Just friend.**

Beedle nodded. “I getcha, friend. What do you need from Beedle?”

Zelda held up the chains. “Will you take these from us?”

Humming, Beedle accepted the chains, staring at them before eyeing the two in question.

He didn’t ask why they had a set of chains on them. Instead he put the chains in a side pocket of his oversized pack and took out some Rupees, counting them. “How does 300 sound?”

Link nodded as Zelda appeared relieved by the easy transaction.

After handing the Rupees over to Link, Beedle asked, “What else do you need from Beedle?”

“Do you have weapons and clothes?”

 **A map too.** Link added.

Beedle made a noise at the back of his throat before he slowly set his back down, zipping it open. “I do. You’re free to search and find what you want.”

Zelda smiled. “Thank you, Beedle.”

Beedle nodded as he sat down to relax without the weight of his pack.

Together Zelda and Link began to search through the items within.

“Oh, hello, Beedle,” Ganondorf grunted as he approached and spotted the merchant.

“Oh, hi!” Beedle waved. “You on an adventure as well?”

“Mm-hm. We’re visiting Tarrey Town.”

Beedle clapped his hands together. “That’s such a nice town.”

Link pulled out some clothes and stared at them before he ran off to go try them on.

Ganondorf rolled his eyes as he knelt by the bag, beginning to search as well.

“Wow, you have Sheikah clothes!” Zelda said.

Beedle nodded proudly. “Oh, yes. They are nice, aren’t they? I even have some Sheikah weapon needles.”

“Can I have those as well?” Zelda asked, holding the Sheikah garb close to her.

“Of course. The weapons are on the bottom.”

Zelda smiled and stood up, wandering off to go try on her find.

Once the two were gone, Ganondorf continued to search for clothes, eventually finding a jacket with a dragon design on it. He held it up, staring at it before he stood up.

Beedle waved as Ganondorf left before he rifled through his pack, taking out the weapons he had and laying them out on the ground.

 **These are nice clothes.** Link signed as he returned dressed in beige trousers and a sleeveless white tunic with a blue cloth tied around his waist with an orange band.

“I’m glad you like them,” Beedle said. “I got them in a faraway province. Ord—something or other.”

Zelda returned with the form fitting Sheikah armor, a white cloth pulled own around her neck. “I didn’t realize these clothes would be so…tight….”

Link snickered and earned a swat on the arm.

“All right, you two lovebirds,” Ganondorf grunted. “Pick your weapons.”

Zelda looked at him and her breath caught.

The jacket went down to his knees, the sleeves reaching his elbows. Beneath the jacket he wore dark clothes with a red sash around his waist.

She saw the much larger man charging at her, intent on destroying her and the boy beside her. He wasn’t going easy on them just because she was a child.

“You okay?” Ganondorf asked, raising an eyebrow when he saw Zelda just staring at him.

Zelda blinked, startling out of her thoughts, and nodded quickly. “Of course.”

She busied herself with looking the weapons over.

Link had already chosen a traveler’s sword, hooking it at his waist, and a traveler’s bow with a quiver full of arrows attached to his back.

Ganondorf scanned the weapon selection before his eyes landed on a pair of long blades that had decorative string hanging from the pommel. He slowly picked one up, turning it over.

“Where did you get these?”

Beedle looked at the weapons with a hum. “Oh, I was exploring the desert down south. Found them in some ruins. They have inscriptions on them but I can’t read them.”

 _I can._ Ganondorf thought. _Koume and Kotake._

“I’ll take them.” Ganondorf slid the swords between the sash, one on each hip.

Zelda set a short sword at her waist, several Sheikah knives and needles beneath the bandages wrapped around her forearms. She took out her nightgown and held it out to Beedle. “Will you take this as well? It’s made from the finest Akkala silk.”

Beedle took the nightgown, looking it over and running his fingers down the material to feel it. “1,000 Rupees?”

“Will those pay for everything?” Ganondorf asked as Beedle handed them a map as well as some supply packs.

“Of course! Beedle’s friends get discount."

Zelda smiled. “Thank you, Beedle.”

Beedle nodded, returning the smile.

As Link and Zelda walked away, Ganondorf took out a few Rupees and handed them to Beedle. “If anyone asks, we weren’t here, all right? We need to keep a low profile.”

“Beedle’s lips are sealed.”

Ganondorf patted Beedle’s shoulder. “Thank you, friend.”

Walking off, Ganondorf joined the other two at the cooking pot that was outside the stable.

“Well, we have our disguises,” Zelda said. “But we should choose aliases as well. The guards are looking for Zelda and Ganondorf.”

“Smart idea,” Ganondorf muttered. “They won’t be searching for other people.”

 **We can change our names?** Link signed eagerly.

“Temporarily. Until things die down.”

**I want to be Raven!**

Ganondorf raised an eyebrow while Zelda snorted.

Link pouted. **I like it.**

“Raven, then,” Zelda said. “I’ll be Sheik.”

“Sheik…the Sheikah?”

“It’s not original, I know!” Zelda smacked Ganondorf’s arm, frowning when he laughed. “Well, what do _you_ have then?”

“Demise.”

“You can’t be serious,” Zelda mumbled.

Ganondorf gave a shrug. “What? I like it.”

Zelda rolled her eyes. “Fine. Raven, Sheik, and Demise. Those are what we call each other now, okay?”

Link gave a thumbs up as Ganondorf said, “Fine by me.”

 **I can make food?** Link suggested, gesturing to the pot.

“I can see what the stable offers for us to cook,” Zelda said, standing and walking to the stable.

Ganondorf stared at the skies, sighing.

They had spent longer at the stable than he had planned. The sky was turning pink with the beginnings of sunset.

“I suppose we can stay the night,” he mumbled.

Having an actual meal and soft bed sounded too good to pass up.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Rhoam mumbled to himself as he paced in front of his throne, running his hand down his beard.

A soldier had just returned with news that Zelda wasn’t in the Faron region, the area Ganondorf had gone towards two days ago with her.

 _If not in Faron, then where?_ He wondered. _Had they turned around?_

Of course. Ganondorf would be so clever as to turn around and head somewhere else to throw the soldiers off their trail.

“But where…?” Rhoam mumbled to himself. He halted then raised a hand towards the soldier awaiting orders. “Check Akkala. It’s possible he believes he can hide out in Tarrey Town.”

“Yes, sir.” The soldier saluted then bowed, an arm across his chest.

Purah stood nearby, watching Rhoam as he continued to pace after the soldier had left.

“I should have killed him when he was a baby,” Rhoam muttered vehemently. “It was my own foolishness that brought this about.”

Purah was about to say something but the doors to the chamber slammed open.

Impa came in followed by two soldiers on either side of a quivering merchant with a huge pack on his back.

Impa paused several feet from Rhoam, dropping to a knee and lowering her head. “Your Highness, we caught this merchant trying to sell some very interesting things in the market.”

One of the soldiers came forward, carrying a garment and a set of chains.

Rhoam took them, looking them over. He looked on the inside of the manacles, spotting the royal crest imprinted into the metal. The garment was silk with golden embroidery reminiscent of the royal family.

Rhoam narrowed his eyes, staring at Beedle. “Where did you get these?”

“I-I get a lot of items form a lot of people,” Beedle said, trying to appear brave even though he was shaking. “I’ll take anything!”

Impa stood up quickly, pulling out a small knife and brandishing it towards the merchant. “Do not disrespect His Highness, merchant!”

Beedle squeaked, covering his head. “Riverside Stable! I got them from Riverside Stable!”

“From Ganondorf?” Rhoam growled.

Beedle nodded quickly. “He was there with Link and a girl!”

“When did you see them?” Impa asked.

“A-a few hours ago? They spent the night.”

Rhoam looked at Purah. “That experiment you were working on…is it ready for a test run?”

Purah gave a nod. “Of course, Your Highness.”

“Send it out.”

With a nod, Purah left the room.

“What shall we do with the merchant?” Impa questioned.

Rhoam wave a hand. “Release him. He obviously didn’t know any better.”

Impa frowned but scowled at Beedle. “You’re lucky His Highness is in a good mood, merchant.”

“O-oh, thank you!” Beedle gave a hasty bow before the soldiers lead him away.

Purah hummed as she trotted down the steps leading to the basement of the castle.

“My dear, little thing. Are you ready for your first mission?”

Mechanical hisses sounded before three pairs of glowing blue eyes lit up the darkness covering the back of the room. A robotic roar pierced the room.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ganondorf sighed as the three of them neared the bridges that connected the Akkala Falls. The falls dropped into the waters of Lake Akkala below.

The two hour ride hadn’t been too difficult. Red Bokoblin and a few Green Lizalfos stood in their way but they were easily dispatched.

Ganondorf slowed Helltrotter to a stop. “Why don’t we stop for a lunch break?”

Link perked up at the idea, hopping down from Epona.

“Lunch does sound good,” Zelda admitted as she halted Bluebell.

Her legs had gotten numb from all the riding anyway.

Link pulled out the pack Beedle had given them, searching through it. He took out a few empty bottles, a cooking pot, a wooden spoon.

Ganondorf raised an eyebrow as he looked at the items. “Beedle gave us all that?”

Link nodded. He held up the bottles, pointing to the falls.

“Okay, water is a good idea.” Ganondorf looked at Zelda as Link ran off. “See if you can find some herbs. We don’t have much to go on, but sweet grass and apples may pair well.”

Zelda nodded, sliding down from Bluebell and rubbing her lower back.

While the two wandered off, Ganondorf set up the cooking pot to prepare food.

As it heated up, he headed to some nearby trees to pull down a few apples.

 _We’ll definitely have to start hunting,_ Ganondorf thought with a sigh as he stared at an apple.

A tap at his arm caught his attention and Ganondorf looked to see Link holding up some fish with a proud grin.

“Oh, you caught some fish? I wouldn’t have thought there were any fish in such cold water.”

Link raised an eyebrow before singing, **How did you know it was cold?**

Taking the fish over to the pot so he could begin skinning them, Ganondorf gesture to the area around them. “The water comes from a basic mountain and mountain water is generally cold. You can get hypothermia if you stay in it too long, but the Zora don’t seem to mind.”

**Wow, you know a lot!**

“I read.” Ganondorf smirked at Link. “Unlike you.”

Link scowled before punching Ganondorf’s arm, earning a laugh.

 **Can I help?** He signed after watching Ganondorf for a bit.

“You could cut the apples.”

Link nodded, sitting down and grabbing an apple.

Zelda returned with a handful of Hyrule herbs and a few hearty truffles.

“The truffles will go well with the fish and apples,” Ganondorf said as he looked the items over. “Good job.”

Zelda smiled, sitting down to watch Ganondorf slice up the fish as Link dropped the cut up apples into the pot as well. Using the wooden spoon to stir the concoction together, Ganondorf gave a hum.

“Where did you learn to cook?” Zelda asked.

“My mother.”

Ganondorf wasn’t going to say out loud that he was now aware that Draco and Irea weren’t his real parents.

“Well, she was a good cook.”

Ganondorf gave a faint nod before he glanced up when a glint caught his eye. He squinted at the form flying above them, circling like a vulture.

“Is that a bird?” Zelda asked, looking up when Ganondorf did.

“Not any bird that I know of…”

 **It’s shiny,** Link signed.

The flying thing suddenly dropped down, diving towards them. As it got closer, Ganondorf saw that it was a mechanical dragon.

He stood up when he saw a Sheikah eye embedded in the beast’s breastplate. “It’s a Sheikah machine!”

“A Sheikah made it?!” Zelda asked in alarm.

The only one she could think of that would make something like a mechanical dragon would be Purah.

The dragon opened its mouth, firing multiple blue beams at the three.

They all dodged in different directions to avoid the attacks, a beam hitting close to the pot and knocking it off its perch, spilling the food on the ground.

Bluebell and Epona spooked, taking off towards Ukuku Plains. Helltrotter stood his ground, whinnying angrily at the dragon as it swooped back into the air.

Ganondorf withdrew his swords, standing to face the dragon.

Link took out his bow, pulling an arrow out and firing it at the dragon.

The arrow bounced off the metal hide.

“Arrows aren’t effective, huh…” Ganondorf muttered to himself.

The dragon hovered nearby, flapping its wings to keep airborne. Two of its six eyes turned red, two beams shooting out to target Ganondorf, one aimed at his head and the other at his heart.

“It has a targeting system?” Zelda asked as she held her own sword tightly. “Of course it does.”

If Purah had built the machine, she wouldn’t have spared any additions.

Ganondorf growled, putting his sword away before he charged towards the dragon, the beams still on him.

He heard a whirr and dodged to the left, two blue beams whizzing past his cheek. He could feel the heat from the beams.

“What are you doing?!” Zelda shrieked while Link looked uncertain as to whether he should fire another arrow to distract the dragon or charge the dragon as well.

As the dragon targeted him again, Ganondorf jumped up and grabbed onto one of its back legs, using his weight to bring it down, slamming it to the ground.

With a grin, Ganondorf withdrew a sword, approaching the downed machine.

The dragon suddenly twisted, swiping out with a paw, claws catching deep into Ganondorf’s side.

Grimacing from the pain, Ganondorf held his side, feeling the blood seeping through his fingers. Before he could react, the dragon charged at him, head slamming squarely into his chest and sending him flying.

“Ganon!” Zelda screamed when the redhead disappeared over the edge of the falls.

The dragon flapped its wings, lifting off the ground. It stared intently into the water below before firing several short beams into the water where Ganondorf had landed.

With no sign of the redhead, the dragon turned and flew off.

Link stared after the departing dragon before he ran to the cliff’s edge with Zelda, peering over it to search for a sign of Ganondorf.

“Ganon?!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> once again sorry for any spelling or grammar errors xD  
> Also yes, if you couldn't figure it out: Link looks like Twilight Princess Link, Zelda looks like Sheik, and Ganondorf is similar to Wind Waker Ganon.  
> I also don't know if the food they make is gonna make dubious food or not ahaha. I may go try that now.


	5. Arc 1: Mipha's Grace

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for any minor spelling errors lol xD  
> Also I'm planning on another Zelgan story but with side SheikLink too  
> If anyone's interested in info about it you can talk to me on tumblr  
> sidlink27 :3

“Pardon me, Hylians!”

The pounding of footsteps rushing towards them startled Zelda and before she could process what was happening, a red blur leaped into the waters of Lake Akkala,

“Are you two all right?” a gentle voice asked.

Whirling around, Link got to his feet, sword at the ready and he faced the voice. He stood partway in front of Zelda to protect her.

Several feet away was a red Zora barely taller than Zelda. She held a silver trident behind her back in a non-threatening stance.

Link slowly relaxed when he realized the Zora wasn’t an enemy, sheathing his sword as Zelda stood up.

The Zora smiled. “My name is Mipha. My brother and I saw what happened.”

Zelda looked between Mipha and the water.

That red blur had been her brother?

“Don’t worry.” Mipha winked. “My brother’s good at fetching things.”

Link looked at Zelda who nodded.

“Thank you for your help,” Zelda murmured, giving a quick bow.

Link gave a bow as well before pointing towards Epona and Bluebell. **I’ll get the horses.**

Mipha watched him leave before looking back at Zelda. “He speaks using Hylian Sign Language.”

“Uh, yes.”

“I haven’t seen it before, but I’ve learned to translate a bit.”

Before Zelda could ask anything, a voice called from below, “Mipha! You better get down here!”

“Oh, I’d best go see what Sidon wants.” Mipha flashed Zelda a smile before diving into the waters.

Zelda moved to the edge of the falls to see that Sidon—a much larger, heavyset Zora—had managed to pull Ganondorf out of the water and onto dry land.

Mipha appeared out of the water, landing beside her brother.

The two began to talk, but Zelda couldn’t hear them. Mipha set her hands against Ganondorf’s side, a soft green glow coming from them.

 _Healing magic,_ Zelda realized.

Healing magic was rare. Few people had the gift of it and Zelda appreciated the fact that they were lucky to be near a healer.

After a few seconds, Mipha withdrew her hands and looked the wound over before saying something to Sidon who nodded seriously. Picking Ganondorf up easily, Sidon ran off. Mipha dove back into the water.

“Is he all right?” Zelda asked when Mipha jumped out of the water and landed near her.

“Those cuts were deep. I healed them as best as I could, but he still needs to be taken to the infirmary. The cold water helped slow his bleeding; that saved his life.”

Zelda gave a slow sigh, putting a hand to her chest. “What a relief.”

“I’ll take you two to the Domain,” Mipha offered. “You’ll be able to see your friend.”

Link grinned as he returned, pulling the two horses by the reins in one hand.

**Food?**

“Is that all you think about?” Zelda mumbled while Mipha tittered.

“Yes. My father loves entertaining guests. He’ll be sure to bring a feast for you.”

Link appeared excited, looking at Zelda who sighed.

“All right. Let me get the other horse.”

Helltrotter looked up from grazing as Zelda approached.

“Don’t bite me,” Zelda growled, reaching out a slow hand to take the reins.

Helltrotter watched her before ducking his head to allow her to pull the reins off his neck.

“Oh.” Zelda had expected more of a fight with the giant horse, but apparently Helltrotter was a gentle giant.

 _Just like his owner,_ she thought in amusement, gently pulling the reins to get Helltrotter to follow her.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

With the horses, Zelda and Link had to take the long way around. Mipha promised to meet them at the Great Zora Bridge after she had alerted her father of their impending arrival.

Taking Ternio Trail down to the path that lead down the Zora River, the two Hylians crossed into the paths of a few green Lizalfos along the way. The lizard monsters were easily dispatched.

After nearly two hours, they arrived at the bridge leading into the glittering Domain, Mipha and Sidon both awaiting their arrival.

“How’s…uh, Demise?” Zelda asked when she saw Sidon.

“He’s in capable hands,” Sidon assured, grinning. “Our healer, Lulain, may not have Mipha’s ability but she is just as good. She’ll take care of that injury to his shoulder as well.”

“Injury to his…?” Zelda paused when she realized Sidon was talking about the arrow injury. “Oh. Thank you.”

“I’ll show you to our father,” Mipha said, beginning to walk into the Domain.

Sidon followed his sister with Zelda and Link trailing behind them.

Climbing up the steps leading to the throne room, Mipha smiled at a black Zora guarding the entrance. The Zora wielded a spear and was covered in pieces of armor to defend his head and chest.

“Good afternoon, Bazz.”

The guard straightened instantly, giving a salute. “Good afternoon, Princess Mipha! Prince Sidon!”

He blinked at the other two.

“And…guests.”

Link waved while Zelda gave a quick nod.

While Mipha and Sidon moved off to the left side, Zelda and Link stood on a slightly raised section in the center, staring up at the huge blue Zora sitting in a pool of water before them.

 **That’s a big fish.** Link signed.

Zelda harshly elbowed him in the ribs, hissing, “Don’t be rude!”

The Zora chuckled. “No, no, it is quite all right. My size does pose to be intimidating to some.”

Zelda paled when she realized the King could read Hylian Sign Language. “I’m so sorry for him, Your Highness. He meant no—”

“No, no.” the King waved a hand, smiling. “No offense taken. My name is Dorephan, King of the Domain Zora. You’ve met my children, Sidon and Mipha. And this is Muzu, my advisor.”

On Dorephan’s right side stood an elderly green Zora with the facial fins of a stingray, an unusual sight in the mainly fish-type Zora that resided there.

Muzu stared at the two suspiciously, hands behind his back.

Zelda gave a curtsey. “My name is Sheik. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Your Majesty.”

Dorephan gave an amused smile as he leaned his chin on his left hand while Sidon frowned, tilting his head.

Zelda appeared confused at their reactions. Had she done something funny?

Dorephan gave a chuckle, leaning forward. “I thought your eyes were a bit too blue to be Sheikah, my dear.”

 **You curtsied.** Link signed when Zelda looked at him, giving a curtsey to show what she had done.

Zelda mentally slapped her face.

Her disguise had fallen apart quickly because she hadn’t bowed like a male should.

“I am sorry for the deception, Your Majesty,” she sighed, looking down. “My name isn’t Sheik, but—”

“Zelda. I thought you smelled familiar, Princess.”

“The Princess?!” Sidon and Muzu squawked at the same time.

Mipha sighed. “You really did not realize, Sidon?”

Sidon shook his head, awed. “No. I was not aware the male before me was actually female, much less the Princess of Hyrule!”

“The Princess disguised as a Sheikah boy?” Muzu sniffed, looking up at Dorephan. “There is something highly suspicious going on, Your Highness!”

“There is a reason she is in disguise,” Dorephan murmured, looking down at Muzu. “And what that reason is will remain hers to tell if she so wishes. We will not question it."

“Your Majesty!”

“Enough, Muzu. We will treat them as any other guest.”

“Your Majesty,” Muzu said, staring at Dorephan intently.

Dorephan lowered his hand for the elderly Zora to stand on before bringing it closer so the two could have a private conversation.

“They brought the calamity with them!” Muzu hissed. “He could destroy our home!”

“The boy knows nothing of his heritage. You were there when Rhoam approached me for my assistance in the massacre of the Gerudo. You were there when I said no. He is injured. I will not turn away an injured guest.”

“Dorephan—”

“I did not turn you away when I found you injured in Hateno Bay, now, did I?”

Muzu sighed, shoulders slumping. “No, Your Majesty.”

“I will not do that to him. They’re our guests.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Dorephan lowered his hand and Muzu stepped off. Dorephan smiled at Zelda.

“You may stay as long as you wish.”\

Zelda gasped and gave a quick bow. “Thank you, King Dorephan!”

“I’m sure Lulain is done with your friend. I imagine you want to see him.”

Zelda nodded, giving another bow. “Thank you again.”

“I’m sure you must be famished from your journey,” Sidon said as he and Mipha approached. “Why don’t we get something to eat? We can bring it to your friend as well in case he’s awake.”

Zelda was hungry. They hadn’t gotten to eat with the dragon attack. She looked at Link.

“You go on ahead. I just want to see how Gan is doing.”

Link grinned, nodding excitedly as he looked at the Zora. **If you have rice and milk, I can make a paella.**

“Oh, a paella!” Mipha gasped, putting her hands together. “That sounds delicious.”

“I’ll check our store,” Sidon offered. “I’m sure they have something you can use.”

Zelda smiled as the three walked off before she made her way to the infirmary.

The infirmary was empty except for the one occupied bed where Ganondorf lay.

Zelda sat in the seat beside the bed, looking the redhead over.

His shirt was off, bandages wrapped around his side. He was asleep but didn’t appear to be in any pain.

“Good,” Zelda sighed, sitting back. She stared at him for a while before frowning when she saw his right hand.

 _Scratches?_ Zelda set her fingers on the scratch marks, the Triforce on both their hands lighting up as a result of the close proximity. She sighed, closing her eyes as she realized what he had tried to do. _Oh, Ganon. Scratching at it won’t make it go away._

Patting Ganondorf’s hand, Zelda stood up. She hadn’t seen the scratched before because he had mostly kept his hand hidden and now she knew why. Whether it was from shame or embarrassment, she wouldn’t know and she wasn’t going to ask.

Giving Ganondorf one last look, Zelda left the infirmary and went to find Link.

He, Sidon, and Mipha were in front of a cooking pot near the inn. The two Zora were watching Link in amazement as he cooked the fish and rice.

“Your friend is amazing!” Sidon said when Zelda approached. “He is a magician with food!”

Zelda gave a chuckle. “Ganon is pretty good as well. He’s the one who taught Link.”

“How fascinating!”

“It smells quite delicious,” Mipha said as Link stirred the food.

Link appeared embarrassed by the compliments, tips of his ears red as he focused on not overcooking the food.

Once the food was done, Link took the plates Mipha had given to him, scooping the paella onto them before holding them out.

Zelda smiled when she saw there was some paella left for Ganondorf for when he woke up.

“Where are you three going anyway?” Sidon asked as they ate.

“Tarrey Town.”

Mipha smiled. “I’ve heard that town is nice.”

Zelda nodded, looking down at her food. She knew it would be safer to not disclose too much to the Zora about the true nature of their journey.

“You are an amazing cook, Link!” Sidon said, grinning at the Hylian. “I’ve never tasted anything like it!”

Link waved a hand, blushing. **Not good like Ganon.**

“Then we will have to taste his food as well to make a comparison!”

Zelda laughed at Link’s expression, the Hylian appearing as if he wanted to disappear.

Mipha chuckled as the conversation turned to something other than Link’s cooking to spare the blond from further embarrassment.

After dinner was completed, while Link went to the inn to flop in bed, Zelda went to check on Ganondorf with the spare plate of paella.

She was surprised to see him awake, even if he looked dazed.

“How do you feel?” She asked as she sat beside him.

“Like I got rammed by a dragon,” Ganondorf mumbled, corners of his mouth twitching up.

Zelda smiled, shaking her head. “Other than that.”

“Still pretty tired.”

“You should go back to sleep then.”

Ganondorf gave a faint hum as he closed his eyes. “I suppose so…”

Zelda sighed, sitting back as she set the plate on a nearby table.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------

“What do you mean it didn’t bring back a body?” Rhoam snarled, pinning Purah with a scowl as the dragon stood silently beside her.

“I-I didn’t know you wanted a—”

“Of course I do! That beast is hard to kill. It takes two, three times! Until I have physical proof he no longer breathes, I will not consider him dead. Send it back out to retrieve his body.”

Purah gave a small bow. “Of course, Your Majesty.”

She made a gesture at the dragon and it snarled, opening its wings and flying off.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ganondorf grumbled when he felt a pressure on his chest, opening his eyes to see a small red Zora sitting on him. He blinked.

The Zora grinned. “Oh, goodie, you’re awake! I’m Finley. That’s Tumbo and Keye.”

Two blue Zora popped up by the bedside, staring at Ganondorf in awe.

 _Oh my gods, they multiplied,_ Ganondorf thought at the two Zora suddenly appearing.

He wasn’t really a child fan and having three Zora children around him was unnerving.

“Are you _really_ a Hylian?” Finley asked, staring at Ganondorf suspiciously. “You’re way too tall.”

“And too tan!” Tumbo piped up.

“And your hair is so red,” Keye added.

“I’m a Hylian,” Ganondorf mumbled, frowning at the Zora. “I’m tan because I worked on a farm and I’m tall because I drank a lot of milk.”

“I’ve never seen a Hylian with red hair,” Finley sniffed, crossing her arms. She then prodded Ganondorf’s nose. “Who are you _really_?”

Ganondorf gave an annoyed growl at the Zora child, but before he could respond, an orange Zora with layered frills around her waist came in, picking Finley off his chest.

“All right, no more interrogating the patient. Or sitting on his chest; his wounds need to heal.”

Finley pouted, crossing her arms again, headtail waving in annoyance.

The Zora shooed the three out before sighing as she faced Ganondorf. “I am sorry for them. We rarely have visitors in our Domain, so they get curious.”

Ganondorf stared at the Zora. She reminded him of the Lake Zora with her brightly colored scales. After a while he shook his head. “No, it’s fine.”

At the Zora’s motion, he pushed himself into a sitting position.

“My name is Lulain. Your friends were really worried about you.” Lulain unwound the bandages around Ganondorf’s waist to look at the three claw marks spanning across his side horizontally. “You’re lucky to have survived this.”

“Um, thank you for your help. I’m grateful for it.”

“I’m sure.” Lulain applied some green paste to the wound before wrapping new bandages around his waist.

Zelda came in, carrying two bowls. She grinned when she saw Ganondorf awake and sitting up. “You’re awake!”

“Good morning, Sheik,” Ganondorf said as Lulain moved away.

“How do you feel?” Zelda asked, holding the bowl out to him.

“Better. And starving.”

“I’m sure,” Zelda chuckled, sitting beside Ganondorf’s bed. “You haven’t eaten since yesterday morning.”

“Ah, no wonder.” Ganondorf shoveled a few spoonfuls of the gruel into his mouth before he asked, “Where’s blondie?”

“He seems fond of Prince Sidon and Princess Mipha.”

“He’s always been drawn towards the Zora,” Ganondorf murmured, looking towards the door. “He remembers nothing, huh?”

“We don’t remember much either, Ganon. Just—”

“Bits and pieces. Probably just the most important memories, at least to us.”

Zelda nodded, staring at her hands. “Yes.”

It fell silent as the two continued to eat.

Zelda looked up, about to ask Ganondorf something, but was interrupted by a loud roar.

They looked towards the door spying several Zora rushing past with silver spears in hand.

“Was that--?” Zelda started, but Ganondorf had already thrown the covers off and was up, making his way to the door after he had grabbed his swords which had leaned against the wall nearby.

Zelda gasped, following after him. “You shouldn’t be up yet!”

“The dragon’s back!” Ganondorf growled, glaring at Zelda over his shoulder. “You expect me to sit by and not help?!”

“No…” Zelda shrunk back at his sharp tone.

“I’m going to help.”

Zelda watched as Ganondorf left before she followed after him.

Several Zora were already engaged in a battle with the dragon, the mechanical beast shooting short beams at the piscine people but not hitting them. It was obvious it was only focused on one thing: finding Ganondorf.

When it sensed the redhead approaching, it turned its head, red beam aimed at Ganondorf’s head.

Ganondorf glared at the dragon, unsheathing his blades and dropping them, grabbing onto the decorative ribbons on the pommel.

Beginning to spin the blades in an alternating fashion, Ganondorf approached the dragon.

The Zora immediately parted to avoid the whirling swords.

The beam fired at Ganondorf and Zelda watched in amazement as it hit one of the spinning blades at just the right angle so it deflected back at the dragon, striking it in the face.

With a shriek, the dragon fell to the ground with a thud, stunned.

Flipping the swords up and catching them by the handles, Ganondorf walked closer to the dragon.

“You will work for me, beast of electricity and wire,” he said quietly, putting his hand against the beast’s head. His eyes changed color as his pupils thinned out. Kneeling down, he whispered, “My name is Malice. You will do as I command.”

The blue coloring of the dragon flickered before fading to a blood red.

Ganondorf grinned as he stepped back, the dragon climbing to its feet.

“It won’t hurt us.”

“How did you do that?” Sidon asked in awe, Link standing beside him with his sword still drawn.

Ganondorf looked at the Zora before he looked back at the dragon. Honestly, he didn’t remember getting that close to the dragon, but it appeared to be tame now.

“I’m not entirely sure but the dragon is harmless now.” Ganondorf patted the dragon. “I’m going to name it Skye.”

Zelda stared at the mechanical beast in concern before looking at Ganondorf.

All he had done was touch it and now the dragon listened to Ganondorf. She wasn’t sure how, but she didn’t like it. Only the Dark King could control people, but beasts of metal? That was new. And disturbing.

“You’re scaring them,” Ganondorf told Skye, gesturing to the air. “Why don’t you go up to the cliffs and stay there until I call?”

Opening its wings, the dragon took off.

Several Zora watched it leave before they relaxed, beginning to disperse.

“You, mister, are not supposed to be out of bed!” Lulain snapped, storming up to Ganondorf. She was tall enough to reach up, grabbing the redhead’s ear and pulling him down before beginning to head back to the infirmary. “I swear to Nayru if you opened your wounds, I’ll chain you to the bed!”

Zelda, Sidon, Mipha, and Link watched Lulain pull Ganondorf into the infirmary.

“Are you all right, Princess? Prince?” Bazz approached the group, looking them over in concern.

“We’re fine, Bazz,” Mipha said with a smile. She gasped when she noticed a bleeding cut on the Zora’s left arm. “You’re bleeding!”

“Huh?” Bazz looked at the cut before he grinned. “Oh, it’s nothing.”

“I should at least—”

“No, no.” Bazz held up a hand when Mipha stepped closer. “You shouldn’t waste your energy on such a small injury. I’ll be fine.”

Mipha watched as Bazz left, headtail swishing a bit.

Sidon grinned, leaning down a bit as he cooed, “Ooh, love on the battlefield.”

Mipha gave an amused grin, glancing up at her brother before punching his arm. “Shut up.”

The punch earned a laugh from Sidon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mipha has a crush on Bazz  
> Bazz has a crush on Mipha  
> They're both idiots.


	6. Arc 1: The Voices Beneath

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I told myself I'd get it up today  
> I got it up  
> bedtime for me now

Zelda chuckled as she came into the infirmary to see an annoyed Ganondorf sitting in bed, arms crossed over his chest while Lulain checked his injury over.

Ganondorf scowled at Zelda, giving a grumble.

After a few more seconds, Lulain straightened. “You’re lucky those didn’t open up. Until I say so, you’re in bed confinement.”

“And how long is that?” Ganondorf grunted, raising an eyebrow.

“Two days. You are not to get out of bed or I will chain you down. Understand, young man?”

 _Young man?_ Ganondorf thought as he gave a nod.

Lulain was older than him then. How old was the question and Ganondorf didn’t want to get slapped.

With a sigh, Ganondorf looked at Zelda. “What’s up?"

“I just wanted to see what we’re going to do once we reach Tarrey Town.”

“Tarrey Town?” Lulain asked. “You're going there?”

“Yes.”

“Oh, you don’t want to if you’re avoiding Hyrulean guards.” Lulain washed her hands in a nearby basin.

Zelda and Ganondorf looked at each other before Zelda asked, “Why? What’s wrong with Tarrey Town?”

“I heard about a dozen Hyrulean soldiers showed up at Tarrey Town and practically ransacked it, looking for three people.” Lulain glanced at the two out of the corner of her eyes. “I would imagine they’re still there if not searching the area around the town.”

Ganondorf gave a quiet groan. “Great. Tarrey Town is out of the question then.”

Heading to Ganondorf’s pack, Zelda took the map out and opened it, spreading it on Ganondorf’s lap so he could see it.

Ganondorf hummed as he stared at it, Zelda standing beside him so she could see it from his angle.

After a bit, he pointed to a spot in Faron.

“Lurelin Village. They’ve already checked the Faron region so he may not send anymore soldiers that way.”

Zelda stared at where Ganondorf was pointing, nodding slowly.

It was a small fishing village. The weather she heard was mild and nice, even if there was quite a bit of rain.

“It’s possible. That would be a few day walk though.”

“It’s the only way unless you want to go to Hebra.”

Zelda gave a laugh. “Too cold."

“That’s why I didn’t suggest it.”

Lulain smiled at the two before she left, deciding to let the two talk privately.

Zelda sighed as she sat in the chair beside Ganondorf’s bed. “Are you all right?”

“I’m fine. I didn’t strain myself. You and Lulain are worrying over nothing.”

“No. The…” Zelda sighed. “That thing with…Skye. It was strange. Don’t you think?”

“Oh.”

She was talking about the way he had controlled it somehow.

Ganondorf gave a shrug. “It was weird. But now that machine isn’t a threat to us. It can help defend us.”

Zelda made a noise at the back of her throat.

He was right, but she wasn’t sure if he was playing dumb or he really didn’t realize the implications of what he had done.

The danger.

Ganondorf gave a yawn and Zelda gasped.

“Oh, I’m sure you’re still tired.” Zelda grabbed the map from Ganondorf’s lap, but Ganondorf put his hand on hers to stop her.

“You don’t need to leave. I don’t mind your presence.”

Zelda smiled a bit, sitting back down. “All right then.”

With a nod, Ganondorf slid down a bit and stretched his arms above his head. “Wake me when Link cooks dinner, all right?”

“Of course.”

As she watched, Ganondorf closed his eyes and fell asleep quickly. She replaced the map into his pack then settled into her seat, crossing her arms over her chest. She watched Ganondorf for a while before her eyes slowly slid closed and she fell into sleep as well.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------

A prickling sensation at the back of her neck woke Zelda from her slumber. She grimaced, shifting in her sleep and rubbing her neck where she felt a crick.

“That is the last time I fall asleep in a chair…”

Letting her gaze roam around the quiet room, Zelda gasped when she saw that the sky outside was a blood red, the crimson moon slowly rising over the cliff in the distance.

_A blood moon!_

Zelda stared at Ganondorf anxiously.

She couldn’t move him. There wasn’t really a spot in the domain that the beams wouldn’t reach and having him fully exposed to the rays…

She remembered when Ganondorf had torn the manacles from the walls of the cell with ease. Such strength was inhuman.

Staring at him, Zelda clenched her hands in her lap, waiting for any indication that something would happen.

Ganondorf grimaced in his sleep, shifting a bit as the blood moon’s light landed on him.

Ganondorf’s eyes suddenly snapped open, irises a deep orange and sclera pure black. He looked towards Zelda then pushed himself up with a lazy grin.

“Ah, Hylia. I didn’t expect you to be here. It saves me the trouble of trying to find you though.”

Zelda scowled at whatever was controlling Ganondorf.

**_Malice._ **

The name into her mind and Zelda gave a quiet grunt. “Malice. Release Ganondorf right now before you regret it.”

“How about…no. He’s evaded his fate for far too long.” Throwing the covers off, Ganondorf stood from the bed.

Zelda quickly got to her feet, knocking the chair down behind her in her haste, and backed away as the redhead approached.

“You may have him somehow wrapped around your finger, princess, but _I_ hold the strings.”

Zelda glanced behind her when she hit a wall, realizing he had purposely gotten her into a corner to prevent easy escape. She glared, puffing herself up to show she wasn’t afraid.

Ganondorf appeared amused at her bravado, slowly reaching a hand towards her. “He’ll be so heartbroken to find your lifeless body that _he_ killed. Then I’ll give him the power he craves and he’ll kill the Hero before he gains that cursed blade and together we’ll watch as Hyrule _burns._ ”

**_….Weakness…..Light Arrows…_ **

Zelda gasped at the voice that entered her mind as Ganondorf’s hand closed around her throat. A flash of light came to her hand and she gripped the arrow shaft tightly.

“I am sorry about this, Ganondorf!”

Swiftly, Zelda stabbed the tip of the Light Arrow into the redhead’s shoulder.

Ganondorf recoiled with an inhuman shriek, releasing her so he could grab his shoulder. “Wretched witch!”

“Release Ganon right now,” Zelda hissed, clenching her hands.

Ganondorf snarled before his eyes glazed over and he blinked a few times, the sclera and iris returning to normal. He shook his head with a grunt then glanced around. He looked down at his shoulder when a sharp pain ran down his arm.

“Uh…” Ganondorf looked up at Zelda, eyebrows raised. “Why is there an arrow in my shoulder?”

Zelda sighed, slowly relaxing as she stepped closer to Ganondorf. “You’re you?”

"How can I not be anything other than me?”

Zelda shook her head. “Nothing. Forget I asked.”

She touched the Light Arrow and it disappeared, leaving behind a patch of bright skin where the arrowhead had been, but no blood.

Ganondorf looked at the wound before he looked back at Zelda.

“I’m so sorry for that,” Zelda murmured, touching the wound. “It was the only thing I could think of.”

Ganondorf frowned, dropping his gaze. He remembered nothing, but he was certain it had to do with the blood moon now beginning to fade. He shook his head, grinning at Zelda. “Don’t worry about it."

“But…”

“I’m not bleeding and it doesn’t hurt that bad. It was for a good reason, right? I should be thanking you.”

 _For me almost killing you?_ Zelda thought with a miserable sigh.

She gave a weak smile. “Will you at least promise to let Mipha check it over tomorrow?”

With a chuckle, Ganondorf nodded. “Of course. If it makes you feel better.”

“It would immensely.” Zelda stared at the wound. “It truly doesn’t hurt?”

“No. Don’t worry yourself, princess. I’m tougher than I look.”

Zelda gave an exasperated smile, swatting Ganondorf’s arm.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------

After two days, Lulain deemed Ganondorf safe enough to get out of bed.

“As long as you continue to care for the wound until it scars over,” the Zora said, frowning at the redhead.

Ganondorf smiled, holding up his right hand. “Promise. Otherwise Zelda will slap my head.”

“Hey,” Zelda grumbled while Link smiled.

 **He’s right.** Link signed. **You can be a mother cucco.**

“I-I am _not_ a mother cucco.”

“Remember that one time Link got a piece of glass in his foot?” Ganondorf muttered. “You practically dragged him by his ankle to the infirmary to get it healed.”

“He was going to cover it with dung!”

**Hey, dung works well as a covering!**

“If you want infection!”

Ganondorf sighed as the two continued to argue over properly healing a wound.

Mipha smiled at the sight as she walked into the room. “Are you three leaving now?”

Zelda looked at the Zora and smiled. “Yes. We’ll be going to Lurelin.”

"I see. Well, my father wishes to speak with you before you go.”

“Of course. We’ll come see him right away.”

Once Mipha had left, Zelda scowled at Link and punched his arm.

Link pouted, rubbing his arm as Zelda left the room.

Ganondorf hummed, smiling at the interaction as he followed Zelda.

Link made a noise then followed after the other two.

They gathered in the throne room and Dorephan smiled at them.

“I heard you three would be leaving today.”

Zelda gave a small bow. “Yes, Your Majesty.”

“It would be rude of me to not see you off and give you well wishes on your journey.”

“Oh, you don’t need to do that, Your Majesty. We’re grateful you allowed us to stay.”

There was a grunt from Muzu and Dorephan gave him a look to silence him.

“If I may, father,” Sidon said, stepping up to stand before Dorephan. “I would like to accompany these three on their journey.”

There was an indignant squawk from Muzu while Dorephan blinked.

“I have no true reason for my request other than I wish to look at the world outside the domain, even if it is to Lurelin Village.”

“Whoa, whoa, fishboy,” Ganondorf grunted, waving a hand. “You’re the prince. You can’t just go galivanting with us when you’re next in line for the throne.”

Sidon looked at him then smiled. “Oh, no, I’m not the next in line for father’s throne. Mipha is.”

Zelda, Ganondorf, and Link exchanged a glance before Zelda asked, “Aren’t you the oldest?”

“Huh? Oh, my size belies my age. I apologize if you were misled, but I am the _younger_ brother to Mipha.”

Mipha tittered as she stepped up to Sidon’s side. “Oh, did we not mention it? Our apologies, we thought you were aware.”

“No.”

“How could we?”

**Tall.**

Dorephan cleared his throat to get the attention back on him. “As the trip is short, I see no reason you couldn’t join them. You’re a seasoned fighter and it would be good to have some worldly experience.”

Sidon perked up, headtail wagging. “Oh, thank you, father!”

Mipha looked up at Dorephan. “Then I request I go as well.”

Muzu appeared like he was about to have a heart attack while Dorephan hummed.

“Do you have a reason, then, my daughter?”

“The Sea Zora come down from Lanaryu Bay to the waters of Lurelin Village to lay their eggs. It would be good experience for me to speak with their leader, gain trust with their people.”

“Y-Your Highness!” Muzu squawked, staring at Dorephan pleadingly. “Don’t consider her request! It’s dangerous! If something happened to her—”

“We would have Sidon,” Dorephan murmured. “But these three are capable fighters as is Sidon. And to put your fears further at bay, Bazz will accompany them as well.”

Bazz poked his head into the throne room. “Am I required, Your Highness?”

Dorephan nodded as Bazz entered the room. “Mipha and Sidon wish to travel with our guests to Lurelin. I want you to go as well to protect them.”

Bazz gave a salute and a nod. “It would an honor, Your Highness!”

Ganondorf internally groaned. Great. Now they had three Zora traveling with them.

_Just what we need._

_\---------------------------------------------------------------------------_

“This is going to be a fun journey,” Sidon said as he, Mipha and Bazz followed after the three Hylians.

The Zora were following in the river, taking care of any Octorok that lurked there while the other three traveled on horseback, dispatching the Lizalfos that had been revived by the blood moon.

“So what route are we taking?” Zelda asked, looking at Ganondorf.

“Wetland Stable will be the closest one where we can rest.” Ganondorf looked at the Zora in the river. “A lot of traveling will be land based for them, but we need to avoid getting close to the castle.”

Zelda nodded. “Yeah…back to Hylia Bridge, huh?”

“Yeah. Let’s hope no soldiers are there.”

Link glanced around as they came closer to Lanaryu Wetlands, sensing that they were being watched.

Sidon and the other two Zora sensed it as well, coming out of the water.

Mipha held up her trident while Sidon and Bazz held their spears.

“Is it monsters?” Zelda asked, keeping Bluebell steady.

“If Bluebell is reacting that way, no,” Ganondorf grunted, glancing around.

“It wouldn’t be Yiga would it?” Zelda asked nervously, unsheathing her sword.

She knew from Impa that Yiga didn’t typically travel in groups, to cut down suspicions, but perhaps this was a deviation from that.

Link shook his head.

“There are at least three of them,” Sidon said, tilting his spear in the direction that he sensed the people.

“We have the advantage then,” Bazz said. “Would they really be foolish enough to challenge us?”

“If they’re desperate enough,” Ganondorf muttered.

The six waited for any sign of the bandits coming closer, the only sound coming from the snorting horses.

After a while, Sidon relaxed. “I believe they’ve left.”

 **Smart.** Link signed.

“We did have three fierce Zora on our side,” Zelda laughed. “Perhaps that’s why they changed their minds.”

“Oh, no,” Mipha said with an amused smile, gesturing to the cliffs. “I believe Skye may have frightened them.”

The machine stood on the cliffs, staring where the bandits had been, eyes locked for any movement.

“Good dragon,” Sidon said as Skye took off to fly ahead of the group.

“Let’s keep moving then,” Ganondorf sighed. “Before they change their minds again.”

Monsters he could handle, but potentially killing other humans? No thank you.

The six resumed their trek, the Zora returning to the river to scout ahead. They neared the fork in the road where one would lead down towards Trilby Plain and the other back up towards Ternio Trail and to Akkala.

**_Link._ **

Link pulled Epona to a halt, looking around curiously. He couldn’t see anyone nearby and the other went on ahead like they hadn’t heard the voice. Frowning, Link got Epona walking again.

**_LINK._ **

Okay, now he heard it again and something was pulling him where he needed to go. He stared at the vast, fog-covered forest in the distance.

There?

A voice whispered _yes_ at the back of his mind.

Link kicked Epona into a gallop, racing past Ganondorf and Zelda.

“Where’s he off to?” Sidon asked, the three Zora poking their heads out of the water.

“I have no idea,” Zelda muttered.

Ganondorf gave a grunt as he spurred Helltrotter into a canter.

Despite Epona being smaller and faster, Helltrotter caught up and Ganondorf veered right into Link’s path to stop him.

“Where do you think you’re going?! Wetlands Stable in past Crenel Peak; you’re going the wrong way!”

Link appeared annoyed at being intercepted before he pointed behind Ganondorf.

Ganondorf looked over his shoulder, seeing wooden watchtowers in the distance. “You want to go the military camp?”

Link shook his head in annoyance, pointing again with a grunt.

“Din’s balls, man…just sign what you want!”

**The woods! I have to go there!**

Ganondorf squinted at Link before looking again, spotting the trees covered in mist in the distance. “You want to go to that spooky forest of death?”

Link nodded.

“Why?”

“What’s wrong?” Zelda asked as she and the Zora approached the two.

“Link wants to go to that weird forest.”

Zelda looked where Ganondorf pointed, making a concerned face.

Obviously Ganondorf hadn’t quite figured out what that place was yet.

“Lost Woods?” Zelda looked at Link. “It’s called the _Lost_ Woods for a reason, you know.”

 _Lost Woods?_ Ganondorf thought, glancing back at the forest.

Why did that name sound familiar? Something told him that going there was a horrible, awful idea.

 **I just feel like I have to go there.** Link signed.

“If you two are avoiding the Hyrulean army, going that way is suicide,” Bazz said. “The military camp is crawling with them.”

Ganondorf grunted. “He’s right. We stick out like sore thumbs.”

“We could go past under the cover of night,” Zelda suggested with a shrug.

“That is an excellent idea,” Mipha said. “The Woodland Stable is nearby so we can stay there until nightfall.”

“Sounds like a good plan to me,” Sidon agreed with a grin. “They’ll more than likely be unable to easily spot us.”

Ganondorf sighed. “All right, fine. We can rest at the stable then go to the woods.”

He headed towards the stable.

“I just hope you know what you’re doing.”

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The spotlights slowly swept over the path that cut through the Minshi Woods, lighting up anything in its path.

The six stayed right out of the range, watching the movements.

“Of course they have spotlights,” Ganondorf mumbled.

“What do we do?” Sidon asked. “They’ll sound the alarm if we’re seen by one.”

“Small people first,” Bazz suggested. “They can move quicker and out of spotlight range faster.”

“Guess that’s you four,” Ganondorf said, looking at Mipha, Bazz, Zelda and Link.

The four nodded and they all watched the movement of the spotlights. Once it had swept out of the path, Link quickly trotted down the path until he was out of the spotlight’s return range.

Slowly, the other three went as well, joining Link.

“Our turn,” Sidon said, flashing a smile at Ganondorf.

“Zora first.”

“As you wish,” Sidon muttered, watching the spotlight before moving swiftly down the path, headfin just managing to make it out of spotlight range.

Once it had made another pass, Ganondorf made his way down the path.

A pair of red eyes popped up in front of him, the Stalkoblin giving a cackle.

Startled by the sudden appearance of the monster, Ganondorf screamed and scrambled back, unsheathing a sword to stab the Stalkoblin through the head.

“What was that?” a voice asked, the spotlight sweeping back in Ganondorf’s direction and landing on him.

An alarm sounded immediately as Ganondorf scrambled to his feet.

“It’s him!”

“Get him!”

Ganondorf took off at a run, the others heading towards the Lost Woods.

 **Nice scream.** Link signed, grinning at Ganondorf.

“Now isn’t the time for jokes!” Ganondorf snarled, barely avoiding an arrow that whizzed past him.

The six ran into the woods, the mist instantly swallowing them. The soldiers skidded to a stop, staring at the mist-covered woods.

“They went into the Lost Woods,” one mumbled.

“Well, go get them!”

“And come back as a Skull Kid? No thank you.”

“Someone has to get him,” a guard said. “The king wants him dead or alive.”

“He’s as good as dead in there anyway. No one comes out of the Lost Woods.”

“What about the alarm?” another soldier asked. “They’ll ask why we set it off.”

“They’ll definitely send Impa.”

A collective shudder went through the group.

“Here’s what we’ll do,” a guard said. “We’ll say we thought we saw someone but it was just a monster.”

“But what about the—”

“Impa doesn’t need to know what we truly saw. All we have to do is give an explanation for the alarm and we _will._ ”

The soldiers gave an _oh_ of understanding.

“Good thinking!”

“Yeah, she’ll never know.”

“Let’s get back to our positions.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes the soldiers are idiots  
> Impa will find out  
> One way or another


	7. Arc 1: Deku Tree, Sir

Ganondorf sighed as he looked over his shoulder, unable to see the forest’s entrance through the fog. He groaned before straightening. “Okay, we’re in the forest, Link. Now what?”

“They won’t follow us, right?” Mipha asked, looking back where they had come from.

“If they’re smart, they won’t,” Bazz murmured. “It’s easy to get turned around in here. Many have died because they couldn’t find their way out.”

“Shh!” Zelda said, holding up a hand as she stared at Link intently.

It was obvious he could hear something the way he tilted his head side to side, ears twitching at the sounds.

“What do you hear, Link?” Sidon asked, leaning down a bit. “Is it enemies?”

Link shook his head. **Music.**

“Music?” Ganondorf repeated skeptically, crossing his arms as he raised an eyebrow. “I hear nothing.”

Everyone else went quiet, listening carefully for the music that Link claimed to hear.

Zelda shook her head. “I don’t hear anything either, Link. Are you sure--?”

Link nodded seriously, appearing put off that no one believed him.

“Should we follow the music?” Sidon asked.

Link frowned before he nodded.

“Whoa, whoa,” Ganondorf said. “It could lead us into a trap.”

Link shook his head. **I think it’s leading us to where we need to go.**

Ganondorf gave a doubtful hum, looking at the others.

“We can’t just keep standing here,” Zelda said. “Let’s try it.”

“I’m sure it will be fine,” Sidon agreed with a grin.

Ganondorf sighed then shook his head. He waved a hand. “All right. Show us, Link.”

Link grinned and nodded, beginning to walk forward with the group trailing after him.

Every so often he would stop and move left then right before picking a direction where the strongest source of music was apparently coming from.

A few stop and starts later, the group passed through a large log, exiting the fog-covered forest and coming out to a bright part of the forest containing a gigantic tree with pink petals on its topmost branches.

“Wow…” Zelda breathed, looking around in awe.

“What a beautiful place,” Mipha said, staring at a strange pod-shaped plant that seemed to emit light.

 _Why does this place seem familiar?_ Ganondorf wondered, staring at the tree suspiciously before dropping his gaze down, spying a sword embedded in a pedestal just in front of the tree. His eyes widened at the sight of the sword.

“Wait a second…this place is…”

“Aah!”

The cry startled the group as a small creature launched itself at Ganondorf, whacking his ankle with a tiny stick.

“Begone, foul beast! You aren’t allowed here!”

Mipha giggled at the creature’s assault which only baffled Ganondorf. The stick didn’t hurt but whenever he moved his foot out of the attacking range, the creature followed to continue the onslaught.

Annoyed, Ganondorf picked the creature up by its head, holding it eye level so he could glare at its leaf mask. “What the heck are you anyway?”

The creature squeaked, dropping its stick as it covered its face. “Don’t eat me!”

“What the—why the heck would I eat you?!”

“It’s quite an adorable creature,” Sidon murmured, leaning closer to get a better look at the creature.

“I believe it’s called a Korok,” Bazz said. “They’re supposedly everywhere in Hyrule in the most unusual places.”

“You’re scaring it,” Mipha said, putting a hand on Ganondorf’s arm.

“It attacked me first!” Ganondorf complained.

Zelda smiled as the Zora tried to explain how Ganondorf was being mean before she looked up at a rattling noise and gasped. “Uh, Gan?”

Ganondorf looked at Zelda. “What?”

“Put the Korok down.”

Raising an eyebrow, ganondorf looked at where Zelda was and spotted several hundred Koroks peeking out of the trees, staring at them.

With a nervous smile, Ganondorf set the Korok down, patting it on the head.

It ran off immediately, pausing briefly to shake a tiny fist at him.

 **That’s a lot of Koroks,** Link signed in awe.

One Korok pointed a branch of berries at Ganondorf, squeaking, “Attack!”

“What the--?!” Ganondorf stepped back as the Koroks launched themselves at him, their sheer mass dragging him to the ground. “Agh!”

“They like you,” Mipha laughed.

“Are you nuts?!” Ganondorf snapped, trying to get himself out from under the Korok mass. “They’re trying to kill me!”

A few Koroks grabbed onto Link’s legs.

“Hurry, Mr. Hero!”

“We’ll hold him down!”

Link raised an eyebrow at them as they patted his legs, trying to get him to walk.

There was a loud grumble before a gravely voice said, “Now, children, that isn’t any way to treat guests, is it?”

The Koroks immediately sprang off Ganondorf with a cry off, “No, Grandpa!”

Ganondorf sat up, shaking his head before he stared up at the tree. “Did that tree just talk?”

Link gave a nod.

“A talking tree,” Sidon murmured. “How marvelous!”

The tree gave a mumble, gazing down at the group. “My, my. The Dark King, the Princess, and the Hero traveling together. How unusual.”

It seemed to smile.

“Not unwelcome, however. And you have Zora friends, I see. Welcome to the Korok Forest. I am the guardian of this realm. You can call me the Deku Tree.”

 _The Deku Tree,_ Zelda thought in awe.

She had heard tales of the wise old tree. Guardian of a vast forest and protector of the Master Sword. She stared at the sword in the pedestal before looking at Ganondorf who was also staring at it grimly.

Zelda thought back to the times Ganondorf had gotten a headache or the chest ache, realizing the pains had been residual effects from the Master Sword being driven though his past incarnations.

Moving closer to Ganondorf, Zelda set a hand on his to support him.

His muscles were tense, ready to fight or flee. She knew he would probably choose the former. Ganondorf was not one to back down from a battle.

Ganondorf glanced at her hand before looking at Zelda, he didn’t appear comforted by her touch, remembering the Light Arrows piercing him.

She had always helped the Hero.

Sensing the three’s tension, the Deku Tree spoke up. “If you draw the sword, Link, the cycle will begin in its entirety. However, what you choose to do will be up to you. Fall over the same sequence as always or change it.”

Link stared up at the Deku Tree before he moved closer to the Master Sword, grabbing the handle.

The metal scraped against the rock as he slowly pulled it out from its resting place.

He held the sword skyward, tilting it side to side to watch the way the sunlight caught the metal.

The Triforce flashed onto his right hand, the courage piece glowing brightly.

Ganondorf tensed further, gripping the handle of one of his swords, prepared for a fight.

As Link lowered the Master Sword, staring at Ganondorf, Zelda tightened her grip on Ganondorf’s hand when she felt the redhead shift his stance into a battle ready pose.

A wind blew between the group, the three Zora standing off to the side wondering what had gotten the Hylians so ruffled.

The Koroks brought the sheath for the Master Sword and Link knelt down to grab it, sheathing the blade.

Ganondorf narrow his eyes suspiciously at the move, watching as Link strapped the sheath’s belts across his chest.

Once he was done, Link smiled at Ganondorf.

 **You haven’t given me a reason to attack you, Gan.** Link signed. **You aren’t them.**

Ganondorf’s eyes widened at the statement, his hand dropping from the handle of his blade.

Sensing the fight that had been about to brew dissipate, Zelda heaved a sigh and released Ganondorf’s hand.

Crisis averted. For now.

With the Master Sword now in his possession, the journey was going to be tense between Link and Ganondorf.

“What an interesting blade,” Sidon said, moving closer to Link. “Who knew this place held such a thing.”

“It’s a special sword, I imagine,” Mipha murmured, tapping her cheek. “I feel like I’ve heard that name before…..Master Sword….”

Zelda stared up at the Deku Tree. “Deku Tree, is there any possible way for us to end the curse? For us to remain friends?”

The Deku Tree gave a hum as the Koroks gathered on his branches, staring down at the group. After a bit, the Deku Tree murmured, “Well, perhaps a way to put it to sleep….temporarily…”

Ganondorf stared at up the tree. “What? There is a way to stop this?”

“For this cycle. Mind you, it’s possible it may not fully work…but it’s worth a shot, hm?”

“What do we have to do?” Zelda asked.

“Your Triforce is covered in blood and pain and anger. You must cleanse your pieces. Throughout Hyrule, there are seven springs. Bathe in them to purify not only yourselves but the pieces of the Triforce you wield.”

“Springs?” Zelda looked at Ganondorf and Link. “Where are they?”

“They’re hard for people to stumble across,” the Deku Tree said. “One of my children will act as a dowsing rod to help you find them.”

A Korok dropped down on Ganondorf’s shoulder with a giggle.

The Korok was small and brown in color with an oblong leaf over their face.

“This is Astrid. She will accompany you.”

Astrid waved at the group. “Hello!”

“Aren’t you adorable!” Mipha cooed, taking the Korok’s tiny hand. “Hello, Astrid.”

Astrid giggled, disappearing before reappearing on Ganondorf’s head.

Ganondorf gave a sigh. “Why are you on me?”

Though this was the only Korok willing to be near him while the others scattered if he even looked at them.

Zelda looked at Ganondorf. “What do you think? Do you want to do this?”

Ganondorf gave a grumble as he shoved Astrid back onto his head when she fell down the front of his face after trying to grab at a leaf.

Sheesh. It was like babysitting a child.

“I suppose it can’t hurt to try, right?”

Zelda beamed and looked at Link who nodded excitedly. “Then, we’ll do it!”

“We were supposed to just be going to Lurelin,” Bazz muttered, crossing his arms as he frowned at the change in plans.

Mipha smiled, nudging him. “Don’t be a wet blanket, Bazz! We’ll get to Lurelin after our detour!”

“A little adventure never hurt!” Sidon agreed with a pump of his fist.

Bazz appeared doubtful, but didn’t say anything else.

Ganondorf smiled as he watched the group.

The spring idea made him…hopeful. There hadn’t been a cycle he was aware of with a way to stop it, even if only temporarily.

**_I won’t allow it!_ **

The snarl and pressure against his skull was sudden and intense, forcing Ganondorf to double over, grabbing his head.

Astrid gave a startled squeak, leaping off Ganondorf and hiding beneath Sidon’s headfin, peeking out from under it.

Link went on the defensive, grabbing the handle of the Master Sword.

“You’ll make it worse!” Zelda hissed, holding a hand towards Link to stop him. “Let me handle it.”

She moved closer to Ganondorf slowly, leaning down to get a better look at him.

“Gan? What’s the matter?”

**_Kill her!_ **

_Over my dead body!_ Ganondorf snarled back at the Malice.

“You need to…hit me with a….Light Arrow…”

Zelda startled at the statement, immediately shaking her head. “No! I’m not going to do that!”

“If you don’t do that, it will make me kill everyone! It’s the only way to put it at bay!”

Ganondorf could feel the Malice attempting to forcefully change him into Ganon. He grit his teeth then glared at Zelda.

“Do it now!”

Zelda appeared distraught at the choices she was given before she steeled herself, a Light Arrow appearing in her hand.

Just as Ganondorf straightened, she plunged the arrow tip into his right shoulder.

Ganondorf heard the Malice’s shriek as it lost its control with the burst of light and he sighed, relaxing. He rubbed his forehead as a headache came on.

Link slowly released the Master Sword, moving closer to Ganondorf in concern.

“I’m fine now,” He said, waving a hand at Link. “It’s pissed because of our idea.”

“Then it may work,” Zelda murmured. “Otherwise, it wouldn’t have tried something like that.”

Ganondorf gave a nod. “We need to get to the spring then.”

“Should I…?” Zelda reached a hand towards the Light Arrow.

Ganondorf stepped out of range. “Keep it in for now. It may try to come back if it’s removed.”

Zelda frowned at that, concerned that Ganondorf was in pain before she nodded. “All right…”

Ganondorf smiled faintly before he looked at Astrid. “Can you show us to the first spring?”

Astrid stared at him before disappearing. She reappeared atop Ganondorf’s head, pointing to the left. “That way!”

“Is this going to be a regular thing with you?” Ganondorf mumbled as he headed where Astrid was pointing.

Link and Zelda trailed behind Ganondorf.

Just as the Zora were about to follow the three, the Deku Tree gave a cough.

“I’m sorry, my Zora friends, but the springs are strictly for those three.”

"Oh.” Sidon appeared disappointed, looking after the three.

“You may wait here,” the Deku Tree offered. “My children will entertain you. Won’t you?”

The Koroks immediately began to chatter, surrounding the Zora.

“What do you want to play?”

“We can play anything you want!”

“Let’s play hide-and-seek!”

There was a collective gasp as the Koroks all began to chant, “Hide-and-seek! Hide-and-seek!”

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A spider skittered from its web as the group passed by its home, apparently annoyed at having its peace interrupted.

Zelda looked at it nervously before trotting to catch up to the group. “This place is super scary.”

“All the better to keep out trespassers or thieves,” Ganondorf grumbled, watching Astrid who was bouncing ahead of the group, humming a little tune to herself.

A faint roar sounded above the trees and through the fog, Ganondorf saw the red lights from Skye.

“And mechanical dragons as well.”

“How much farther?”

“Almost there!” Astrid giggled, twirling over a patch of bog. “Hurry, hurry!”

Ganondorf paused, staring at the bog with a grumble.

It was too large to jump across and trying to walk across it was suicide.

 **Now what?** Link asked, looking at Ganondorf.

“If we find a log, it’s possible it may be buoyant enough to float and maybe support our weight long enough to cross.”

Zelda glanced around then pointed to a fallen log nearby. “Would that work?”

Ganondorf moved to the log to inspect it and nodded. “It should. Help me push it.”

Getting onto either side of Ganondorf, Zelda and Link began to help him push it towards the bog.

Zelda glanced at Ganondorf, awed that he was quietly enduring the pain of the Light Arrow still stuck in his shoulder.

Positioning the log’s end with the bog, Ganondorf shoved it in with a grunt.

It sunk briefly before bouncing back up.

Ganondorf looked at Link and Zelda. “You two first. It may sink with my weight.”

Link nodded, crossing the log quickly. He gave a thumbs up once he was on the other side while Astrid clapped.

Zelda stared at the log nervously before she quickly bolted across it, practically running into Link.

Testing the sturdiness of the tree by pressing a foot on it, Ganondorf hummed when the log sunk down. He stepped back a few feet to get a running start then steadied himself before charging towards the log, leaping onto it and crossing to the other side in two steps.

Ganondorf turned in time to see the bog swallow the log. “Guess we’ll need another log on the way back.”

Link and Zelda nodded as Astrid continued to lead the way.

No more bogs barred their way until they arrived at a swamp with several dead trees surrounding it.

“This is Mido Swamp!” Astrid chirped. “The spring is here!”

Ganondorf looked around for any sign of an entrance while Zelda stared at the faces on the trees.

 **How do we get in?** Link asked.

“One of the trees is hungry!” Astrid said, bouncing excitedly.

“So we feed it something?” Ganondorf mumbled.

“We left all our food with the horses,” Zelda sighed, crossing her arms.

“Then it’s something here,” Ganondorf said, beginning to search for anything they could substitute for food.

Zelda hummed, staring at the trees critically.

What did trees eat? Sunlight and water.

Kneeling down, Zelda touched the ground.

It was damp due to the swamp. The trees had enough water.

Ganondorf found a mushroom and picked it, shoving it into one of the tree’s mouths. He watched it expectantly only to duck when the mushroom was thrown back at him. With a grumble, Ganondorf picked up the mushroom and went to try another tree.

Zelda squinted up at the sky, not unsurprised that it was covered in a thick fog.

No sunlight. The tree was hungry for sunlight.

“I got it!”

Ganondorf looked at Zelda after shoving the mushroom into the mouth of another tree. “Got what?”

The mushroom smacked against his face and Ganondorf scowled at the tree before kicking the trunk.

“We need sunlight.”

 **Sunlight?** Link wondered, looking up at the sky.

“How the heck are we going to make sunlight?” Ganondorf grumbled, crossing his arms. “We can’t exactly magic it out of thin air.”

Zelda grinned, clapping. “Actually, we can. All we need is a fire and metal.”

Link and Ganondorf glanced at each other.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“I still don’t think this will work,” Ganondorf mumbled as he continued to strike his swords together, trying to create a spark.

Zelda had gathered some wood from nearby and without flint, two blades were the next best to create a spark to start a fire.

“It’s worth a shot,” Zelda huffed, pouting at Ganondorf. “You got a better idea?”

“Uh, Light Arrows?”

Giving a blank stare at the redhead, Zelda summoned a Light Arrow and tossed it into the nearest tree mouth. Seconds later it was spat out. Zelda gestured to it as if to say _See?_

“It could be the wrong tree!”

“Or it’s not the right answer!”

“You’re not the right answer!”

Link slid out of fighting range as the two practically butted heads, glaring at each other.

Astrid giggled. “They’re funny!”

Huffing, Ganondorf pulled back and resumed striking his blades together. “Fine. We’ll try your stupid idea first. Then we’ll do my _clever_ idea.”

Rolling her eyes, Zelda crossed her arms.

A few more strikes and a spark landed on the wood pile.

Ganondorf leaned own to blow on it, stoking a fire.

“Link?” Zelda looked at the blond. “Your sword.”

Nodding, Link unsheathed the Master Sword and held it over the fire, angling it to create a reflection of light on the ground.

“Now, aim it at the mouths, one at a time.”

Shifting a bit, Link aimed the beam of light into the mouths of the trees.

Nothing happened until one of the trees closed its mouth. A few seconds later, it gaped wider, revealing an opening leading into the ground.

Zelda smirked at Ganondorf triumphantly. “What was that about my idea being stupid?”

With a small grunt, Ganondorf lightly swatted the back of her head as he walked past. “Pure luck.”

“Sure it was!”

Link looked at Astrid who wasn’t following. **Are you coming?**

Astrid shook her head. “Just you three! I’ll wait here!”

With a shrug, Link trailed after Zelda and Ganondorf. The tree’s mouth closed behind him.

Astrid sighed, tilting her head. “You haven’t changed, fairy boy.”

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“It’s dark down here,” Zelda whispered, holding onto the back of Ganondorf’s jacket as the redhead lead the way down some winding steps.

“If we’re lucky, we can find a torch,” Ganondorf murmured, trying not to focus on their proximity to each other.

Several steps later and the wall Ganondorf was using to guide them stopped. They were now inside the temple.

“So, I suppose the spring is at the back of the temple, huh?” Zelda asked, looking around to see if she could see anything.

“It would make sense,” Ganondorf said.

Link grabbed Ganondorf’s arm so he could sign, **What about a light?**

"Torch first then we’ll head to the spring.”

As the group moved forward, a large eye appeared on the celling, orange and bright.

Link glanced around when the back of his neck prickled.

He wasn’t the only one to notice something off as Ganondorf mumbled, “Does anyone else feel like they’re being watched?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for any errors. I'm pushing through a fever and didn't feel up to double-check the document xD  
> I hope it's still good ahah


	8. Arc 1: Change the Fate's Design

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I got this up in slightly over a week? That's actually not bad!  
> Thanks to all my friends on discord for encouraging me :3 You guys are the best

There was a thud behind the three as something dropped to the floor.

The area lit up as multiple torches lining the walls sprang to life, revealing the creature as a massive spider with coarse grey hairs coating its body and multiple beady eyes that glowed an eerie green even in the torchlight. On the top of its abdomen was a huge orange eye that rolled around with a life of its own.

“Great, all we needed was a giant spider,” Ganondorf mumbled as the spider released an earthshaking shriek, front legs rearing up.

The monster’s yell caused the flames from the torches to be extinguished, plunging the room back into darkness. The spider’s scuttling legs were the only sounds heard next to Zelda’s nervous breathing.

“How are we supposed to fight something we can’t see?” Zelda asked, holding onto Ganondorf’s arm tightly.

Ganondorf glanced around, trying to figure out where the spider was going to attack from.

The sound of a bowstring being pulled back caught his attention and Ganondorf smirked.

Right. Link was a veteran when it came to giant monsters and their weaknesses.

The three kept their backs against each other, keeping eyes out for any sign of the spider.

“There!” Zelda called when she saw the great orange eye open up on the wall to their left.

An arrow whizzed towards the eye and sunk deep into it, causing the spider to shriek as it dropped to the floor.

As if on cue, the torches once again started burning up on their own, revealing the dazed spider laying on the floor.

Ganondorf took advantage and leapt forward, drawing his swords quickly in an X shape, slicing off two of the spider’s legs.

The spider screeched and flailed before flipping back onto its belly. It shook its head before pinning Ganondorf with a beady glare. It gave a rapid spin, slamming its bulbous abdomen against Ganondorf to send him crashing into the nearest wall seconds before the lights went out.

“Ganon!” Zelda yelled as the spider once again scuttled off somewhere.

Link reached out to try and grab her as he heard her run off, but he only managed to brush her arm. He kept his bow drawn, gripping it tightly as he turned in a circle, keeping his guard up.

The spider could try to take advantage of him being alone.

Ganondorf grimaced as he pushed himself up. He fumbled for his swords, found them and sheathed them. The Light Arrow still in his shoulder emitted a faint light of its own, helping Zelda pinpoint his location.

“Are you all right?” Zelda asked, grabbing Ganondorf’s arm to help him stand up.

Ganondorf nodded, rubbing his back.

Nothing felt broken and the wounds on his side weren’t opened. He would probably just suffer a few bruises.

“I’m fine.”

Grabbing her hand, Ganondorf drew it to the Light Arrow so her fingers touched it and caused it to vanish.

“This is in my way though.”

“What about the Malice?” Zelda whispered.

“I’ll take the chance but I don’t want to drive the arrow deeper.”

Zelda bit her lip but she gave a nod, squeezing Ganondorf’s arm. “Tell me if you feel off.”

Ganondorf gave a smirk before he noticed multiple green eyes slowly approaching them.

The spider shrieked, lifting itself up as it prepared to attack.

Moving swiftly, Ganondorf shoved Zelda behind him and held up his hands towards the monster.

Flames erupted from his fingertips and the spider squealed as it scrambled back, a smell of burnt hair filling the room.

Ganondorf blinked then stared at his hands in awe. Had he just…?

“You can do magic?!” Zelda yelled, grabbing his arm.

“I…I suppose I can.”

He knew he could. Well, his old selves could. They were proficient in magic. But he hadn’t ever thought about it before.

_I can do magic._

At least, he could do fire magic.

The spider shrieked at them then charged.

“Do it again, do it again!” Zelda shouted, holding onto Ganondorf tighter.

Ganondorf held up his hands again, but no flames came out. He tried a second time, desperately.

“I-I can’t!”

“What do you mean you _can’t_?!”

“I just learned how, okay?! Give me a break!” Ganondorf seized Zelda’s arm, yanking both of them to the side as the spider barreled past them.

It crashed into the wall, stunning itself and once again, the torches lit up.

Zelda took the advantage, taking out several Sheikah needles and tossing them at the spider’s eyes, piercing several of them.

It shrieked, scrambling back.

Ganondorf lunged forward, carving off two more of the beast’s legs.

While the spider was distracted, Link charged at its back, leaping up and driving the Master Sword down into its eye as deep as possible.

The spider screeched louder before it collapsed.

The torches remained lit.

“Is….is it dead?” Zelda asked hesitantly while Link wiped the Master Sword off on one of the beast’s legs.

Ganondorf drove both of his swords through the spider’s head before yanking them out, flicking off the black blood coating the blades.

“It’s dead,” he confirmed, sheathing his swords.

 **You can do magic?** Link asked with a grin.

“Apparently not when it counts,” Ganondorf muttered as a door to their right slid open. “Looks like we can continue.”

“Hopefully we won’t have any more monsters like that,” Zelda mumbled with a shiver. “That was awful.”

“We’ll have more,” Ganondorf said. “That was probably just a guardian. It was there to test us.”

 **I bet we have to get through the boss to open the spring,** Link signed as they passed through the door.

Zelda gave a groan. “Wonderful.”

As they walked down the hallway, the torches sprang to life one by one until they reached a door.

Ganondorf lifted it open so they could pass into the next room.

The room itself was circular and the next door was up on an unreachable ledge. Several boxes lay scattered around along with a few spider webs and grass patches.

The three gazed around the room.

Ganondorf could see about four Skulltula hanging on thin threads near the spider webs, awaiting unsuspecting prey.

Link walked forward to start figuring a way forward and as he stepped closer to the grass, a strange plant slithered up with a hiss and snapped at Link who barely avoided its teeth as he stumbled back in alarm.

“What is that?” Zelda asked, staring at the swaying plant in horror.

 **Deku Baba,** Link signed, the Deku Baba slowly returning to the underground.

“Why don’t we take care of the Skulltula and Deku Baba first before we try to get a way forward?” Ganondorf asked, crossing his arms. “They’re in our way.”

Link nodded, heading closer to the Deku Baba to get it to come back up.

“Come on.” Ganondorf said, nudging Zelda before he moved to the nearest Skulltula.

Swallowing, Zelda looked between the Deku Baba and the Skulltula before she went to a Deku Baba nest.

Once the monsters had been taken care of, the three met in the center of the room to figure out the puzzle.

“We have to somehow make a staircase to that door,” Ganondorf grunted, pointing to the door on the second level.

“By using the boxes?” Zelda suggested, moving to one of the boxes and trying to pull it.

Link went to another box to inspect it closely. He tapped it then tried to move it.

“No luck, huh,” Ganondorf muttered as he rubbed his chin.

There were only boxes in the room. Not vines to climb or anything a potential hookshot could latch onto.

“Hey, there’s something on the wall,” Zelda said, pointing to some faded letters.

Ganondorf hummed as he moved over to the wall, staring at it.

**_Good job getting past the spider’s lair, now you need a pair of stairs. Three work as one, your job is nearly done._ **

“Three work as one?” Zelda asked. “Does that mean us?”

Ganondorf gazed back at the boxes and saw that there were three. Moving closer he saw that the Triforce was carved into the sides of the boxes, specific pieces of the Triforce more prominent than the others. The tops of the boxes contained the marks of Din, Nayru, and Farore.

 **Maybe we need to move them into the shape of the Triforce?** Link suggested.

Ganondorf nodded. “Yes, it appears that way. But we need to push them together.”

“That sounds easy enough,” Zelda said, heading over to the box with Nayru’s symbol.

Ganondorf moved to the Din marked box while Link moved to the one with Farore’s symbol.

“Ready?” Ganondorf asked as he braced himself against the box.

The other two nodded.

“All right. Push!”

The three began to push the boxes, the edges scraping against the ground.

Ganondorf paused when he saw that Zelda and Link’s pieces were swapped.

“Link, push yours up as Zelda moves forward. I’ll push mine to the side.”

Link nodded and as he pushed his up, Zelda moved hers to the left as Ganondorf moved to the right.

A bit of maneuvering and the three managed to get the boxes into their respective places. A rumble sounded and seconds later a staircase slid out from the fall.

“We did it!” Zelda said excitedly.

Ganondorf sighed as he rubbed the sweat off his forehead. “The puzzles will only get harder as we go deeper.”

Link nodded.

“It was fun though,” Zelda mumbled, following the other two as they made their way up the stairs.

Just as Zelda went through the door after the other two, Ganondorf grabbed her arm to pull her against him.

She blushed at their close proximity, pressed up against his warm chest, but she saw quickly why he had pulled her.

In front of them was a yawning chasm of nothing but deep blackness. There wasn’t a lot of space for them to stand without the possibility of plummeting into the bottomless space. On the other side, Zelda saw a door leading to another room.

“What do we do now?” She asked as Ganondorf slowly released her. She kept close to him, trying not to stare at the abyss.

“There’s a way past it, I’m sure,” Ganondorf mumbled, glancing around for a sign or something that gave them a hint as to how to move forward.

Link patted the two and pointed to a sign against the wall.

“What’s it say?” Zelda asked, not wanting to move from the safety that Ganondorf offered.

Link read the sign then looked at the two. **It says that the path will reveal itself to the one who can sing the forest’s song.**

“Forest’s song?” Zelda asked. “What’s that?”

Ganondorf hummed. “Perhaps it’s that music you claim to have heard in the Lost Woods?”

Link frowned before he gave a nod. **It’s worth a shot.**

Link began to whistle an upbeat tune, staring at the abyss expectantly.

A path began to light up over the chasm to the music and the three carefully made their way across it, making it to the other side as Link ran out of breath.

The path faded once the music stopped.

“Good job,” Ganondorf said with a smirk at Link.

Link smiled and gave a thumbs up as the door opened.

There was another room with a beam of light slanting into it. Five pedestals with mirrors attached sat around the room within their own grooves. A door leading to the right was locked with a bird symbol in the middle.

“This looks like an angle puzzle,” Zelda said, pointing to the light beam. “We have to move those mirrors to get that beam onto the door’s lock.”

“Seems easy enough,” Ganondorf grunted, moving to one of the mirrors and sliding into the beam of light,

The light was reflected onto the ground.

Ganondorf moved it back. “Huh. Wrong one.”

Link looked at the angles of the mirrors before he moved one to reflect the light beam to the left. Then he moved another mirror down to reflect the light south.

“Link has it,” Zelda said with a smile as Link moved the third mirror.

Once Link had moved the last mirror into place, the beam of light reflected onto the medallion in the center of the door.

After a few seconds, the medallion sunk into the door and the door slid up.

Ganondorf gave a hum, nodding in appreciation.

Link was definitely a veteran temple runner.

The room beyond the door was empty save for three treasure chests sitting in the middle of the room.

Ganondorf stared at the treasure chests suspiciously, feeling like something was of about the random chests.

Link’s eyes lit up at the sight of the chests and he made a move towards them.

Before he could get closer, Ganondorf grabbed the back of Link’s shirt and yanked him back hard, dropping him to the ground.

“Are you crazy?! Doesn’t this seem a bit suspicious to you? Three random chests? No monsters or noticeable mechanisms? It’s obviously a trap.”

“Then do we just continue on?” Zelda asked, staring at the door at the far end of the room.

“I don’t think so.” Ganondorf shook his head as he crossed his arms. “This could be a test. But we have to think about it careful— _Link_!”

Link looked at Ganondorf just as he opened one of the chests.

The chest was empty.

It was obviously a trap as several Skulltula dropped from the ceiling, chittering at the group as they came closer.

Ganondorf scowled at Link as he withdrew his swords.

Link smiled innocently.

The Skulltula weren’t too big and their hard carapaces hadn’t solidified yet so they were easily dispatched.

Ganondorf sighed as the last one was killed. He then looked at Link sharply when the blond began to inch back towards the chests. “Don’t. Open. Another. Chest.”

Link flinched and stopped as Zelda moved to the chests.

She rubbed their tops and revealed markings underneath a layer of dust. “Huh….a boar, a dragon, and an owl.”

“What does that mean?”

Zelda looked at the markings, frowning before she gasped. “Oh, I remember Purah once told me the Zonai believed that dragons represented courage, owls represented wisdom, and boars—”

“Let me guess: Power.” Ganondorf crossed his arms. “The Triforce again, huh…”

 **What do we do?** Link asked, staring at the chests anxiously.

He really wanted to see what was in them.

“Well, you opened the owl one so I suppose that means the dragon is yours and the boar is Gan’s.”

Link looked at Ganondorf who moved close to the chest with the boar on it.

He opened it and was greeted with a silver Rupee. Ganondorf pulled it out, staring at the money in question. “Weird…”

Link bounced eagerly and opened his chest, yanking out a purple Rupee. He shoved it into his pocket.

The door at the far end opened up.

“I’m sure we’re close to the end,” Ganondorf said, pocketing his own Rupee.

The three headed into the room.

The room was square with a 3x3 panel on the left and right walls carved with three dragons, three owls, and three boars. At the back of the room was a door covered with a thick gold chain.

“Boss room,” Zelda guessed, staring at the door.

 **What are the panels for?** Link asked, staring at one of the panels.

Ganondorf gazed at the panels before looking at the ground and spotting three of the exact same panels on the ground, he stepped on one and heard a musical note as the square lit up.

“Hm.”

“A musical challenge?” Zelda asked, moving to Ganondorf’s side.

“Like a Goddess Says, I imagine.”

Pressing a small button beneath one of the panels on the wall, the nine squares within it lit up together. The bottom left one—a dragon—lit up before the top right corner lit up next followed by the bottom right owl corner.

There was a pause before the middle tile—a boar—lit up followed by the tile next to it then the top left corner.

Another pause then the left bottom corner lit up followed by the top middle panel then the middle left followed by the bottom middle panel and the top right corner.

Dragon, owl, owl.

Boar, owl, dragon.

Dragon, boar, dragon, boar, owl.

Ganondorf realized the beat of the panels was similar to the song Link had whistled earlier.

The forest’s song.

He looked at the other two. “We have to match these panels at the same time.”

“What happens if we don’t?” Zelda asked as Ganondorf moved to one of the panels.

“Let’s not find out, hm?”

Link and Zelda looked at each other before they moved to the panels.

“Remember to follow the lights exactly.”

Zelda and Link nodded as the nine panels lit up once more.

“Now!"

As the panels lit up in their specific orders, the three pressed the buttons on the floor at the same time to the same beat.

Miraculously, the three managed to not mess up with the puzzle and once they had finished, a large chest with gold trim dropped down from the ceiling.

“The boss key!” Zelda gasped as Link went to open the chest.

He held up the key proudly before going to unlock the chains across the door leading to the boss room.

After the chains fell to the ground, he opened the door.

Zelda and Ganondorf followed after him.

After they had passed the threshold, the door dropped with a thud, bars blocking it seconds later.

The room was empty and silent save for what appeared to be a large black bud sitting in the center.

“Our boss is a plant bud?” Ganondorf mumbled skeptically, moving closer to the bulb.

All they had to do was burn it and that was it.

Link withdrew his sword, getting into a fighting stance.

“Ganondorf, wait!” Zelda called when she saw the bulb shift.

He looked towards her and at that moment a black Deku Baba shell raised up from the ground.

The Baba was ten times larger than its brethren, green saliva dripping from its fang riddled mouth.

It roared at Ganondorf before grabbing the back of his shirt and flinging him against the far wall. With the immediate threat taken care of, the large Deku Baba leaned down to snarl at Link and Zelda before raising itself to its full height, swaying side to side.

Zelda took out her short sword, glancing towards Ganondorf who was slowly getting to his feet.

The Deku Baba snapped at the two and they jumped back to avoid it.

Link lunged at the Deku Baba, slashing at it but its hard exoskeleton made it difficult to scratch the monster. He backed up, sheathing the Master Sword and grabbing his bow instead.

Ganondorf charged at the Deku Baba while its back was turned. He raised his swords to attack its stem, but the Deku Baba suddenly whipped around.

It grabbed his swords in its mouth and furiously shook him before throwing Ganondorf to the side.

Zelda rushed at the Deku Baba but it turned to face her with a snarl.

With its mouth open, Link shot a few arrows into it, causing the Deku Baba to shriek, rearing back.

Zelda quickly moved forward to start hacking at the Deku Baba’s thick stem.

The Deku Baba shook its head before tilting its head down with a snarl, lunging towards Zelda.

Something struck deep into its shell, causing the Deku Baba to rear back with a squeal before whipping its head in Ganondorf’s direction, the redhead lacking a sword.

Ganondorf smirked at the plant.

Vibrating its stem, the Deku Baba shook its head before spitting multiple black orbs into the air.

They landed on the floor and immediately took root, small Deku Baba popping up.

The tiny Deku Baba snapped at the group with growls.

Ganondorf destroyed the ones nearest to him while Link did the same to the ones by him.

Zelda moved out of the giant Deku Baba’s range, taking out the Deku Baba that snapped at her heels.

“How are we going to kill it?” she asked as she joined Ganondorf and Link.

“The inside of its mouth is its weakness,” Ganondorf grunted as he cut down another Deku Baba. “We need to get its mouth open.”

Link looked around for anything around the room that could be used to their advantage but thee didn’t appear to be anything. Typically, the room would contain the boss’s weakness, but apparently not this time.

The Deku Baba snarled and lunged at them again, missing since they were out of reach.

Ganondorf sprang forward, shoving his sword vertically into its mouth as far as it could go, wedging the Deku Baba’s mouth open.

The Deku Baba recoiled and shook its head furiously to try and dislodge the weapon.

While it was distracted, Link went for its stem and began to chop it.

Zelda tossed her needles into its open mouth whenever it tried to lunge at Link, halting the plant in its attacks.

After a few more strikes, the stem caved under its weakened weight and the Deku Baba collapsed with a fading shriek.

Its head hit the ground with a thud and the Deku Baba remained still.

Ganondorf approached the plant, yanking his sword from its carapace as well as the one in its mouth. He shook them to get off the juices before sheathing his swords.

“You okay?” Zelda asked as they approached the door at the back of the room.

Ganondorf nodded. “Yeah. Probably just going to have a few bruises.”

Zelda smiled a bit, relieved that Ganondorf wasn’t injured too badly.

Link waved at them after the door opened, pointing to a spring that lay beyond the door.

“This must be the first spring,” Zelda murmured.

“I guess we just step into it?” Ganondorf grunted with a shrug.

“I imagine so.”

They all looked at each other before stepping into the water, the water coming up to their waists.

Ganondorf closed his eyes, the spring easing his wounds and soothing the slight pain in his shoulder. His Triforce glowed faintly beneath the water.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------

_He laughed to himself as he finished tying up the bags filled with green goop that he gathered from the remains of Chuchus. It wasn’t very pleasant smelling and was sure to take a few washes to get the smell out._

_Ducking behind a nearby wall, he chuckled to himself as he waited for his unsuspecting prey to walk by._

_“Koume, I can carry it myself!”_

_“You’ll drop it, Kotake!”_

_"You’re going to make me drop it!”_

_The arguing came to a halt and was soon replaced by twin high-pitched shrieks as the two sisters were covered in smelly green goop._

_“Ganondorf!”  
\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------_

_She looked around for any sign of her cousin, but he was a master at hide-and-seek._

_Stupid Sheikah._

_Huffing, she paused by a house and groaned. “Okay, Sheik! You can come out now!”_

_Almost instantly, a blond her age dropped down in front of her, arms crossed with a smirk. “I didn’t know you for a quitter, Zelly.”_

_“Don’t call me Zelly or I’ll call you Sheiky-weiky.”_

_Sheik made a face at her before looking away with a grumble. “You’re a spoilsport.”_

" _You use your Sheikah abilities to your advantage so at least I’m not a cheater.”_

_Sheik rolled his eyes then nudged her. “Tag, you’re it.”_

_He took off running._

_“Oh, you’re so on!”_  
\-------------------------------------------------------------------------

_He stared up at the tree where Sheik was perched, grinning up at the Sheikah. “Hey! You brooding up there?”_

_Sheik stared down at him, appearing unamused. “I’m a Sheikah. Sheikah don’t brood.”_

_He glanced at Navi before looking back up at Sheik. “Looks like brooding to me.”_

_Sheik groaned as he jumped down from the tree, crossing his arms. “What do you want, hero?”_

_"Want to join me for the next temple?”_

_Sheik raised an eyebrow. “Why?”_

_"For…fun? Come on, it’ll go faster if you help me. And you can teach me the song on the way there.”_

_Sheik hummed, watching as he walked away before he slowly trailed after him. “I suppose I don’t see the harm.”_

_\--------------------------------------------------------------------------_

Ganondorf opened his eyes with a grunt. He looked at Zelda and Link who appeared puzzled.

“Did you two—?”

“Have memories?” Zelda finished. “Yeah.”

Link nodded.

“Why memories?” Ganondorf mumbled. “What’s the purpose?”

"They’re possibly memories we didn’t remember. We may have memories in every spring.”

Ganondorf hummed, crossing his arms.

He still didn’t understand the reasoning. But perhaps the memories would somehow help them during their journey. Or to bring back memories of times that hadn’t seemed important, but were important.

“Let’s get back to the Deku Tree,” Zelda said. “I’m starving.”

Link looked at his stomach when it growled. He nodded quickly with a grin.

Food sounded good. And a nice rest.

Ganondorf nodded. “I’m sure the Zora are wondering what’s taking us so long.”

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

After leaving the temple and rejoining with Astrid who patiently waited for the trio, they returned to the Korok Forest.

Mipha was sitting among several Koroks, apparently telling them a story while Bazz stood nearby.

Sidon appeared to be playing hide-and-seek with a few Koroks, smiling as he found a few easily.

Several Koroks perked up at the sight of the group’s return, several yelling, “The Hero’s returned with his friend!”

"Did you have fun, Mr. Hero?”

“Was it dangerous?”

The Koroks all gathered around Link who smiled at them.

“Welcome back!” Sidon said, straightening as he heard the Koroks and smiling at the few that landed on his head and shoulders. “Did your adventure go well?”

“It did,” Zelda murmured. “We found the spring and bathed in it.”

“Excellent,” the Deku Tree rumbled. “I can sense the spring’s cleansing powers surrounding you three. I’m certain you’re exhausted from your adventure though. You six are free to spend the night here. I’m sure my children will whip up a nice meal.”

The Koroks all began to chatter at once, beginning to nudge everyone towards the opening near the base of the Deku Tree’s roots.

“We can make good food!”

“Best fried greens!”

“Mushroom skewers!”

“You’ll never want to leave!”

Mipha and Zelda chuckled at the Korok’s overzealous behavior.

The Deku Tree cleared his throat. “Ganondorf, a word?”

Ganondorf paused, staring after the group before he stared up at the Deku Tree. “Yes, sir?”

“I am quite pleased you are attempting to change your fate. None of your ancestors had ever been so willing before.”

“Uh, thank you, sir.”

“I suggest you travel to Mt. Lanayru next. You may find some answers to the questions you seek.”

Ganondorf furrowed his eyebrows, tilting his head slightly. “Mt. Lanayru?”

“The Spring of Wisdom resides there. Only those of the age of seventeen may visit the spring. It would do you good to visit the spring.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you couldn't tell, the memories were all from the OoT timeline and yes, I headcanon Sheik as a different person than Zelda. For sake of story.  
> Each spring will contain a special memory so be prepared for some interesting ones :)  
> And this chapter is longer than the others xD  
> I'll try to get up chapter 9 soon :3  
> Sorry for any errors xD


	9. Arc 1: Can You Face Yourself

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> warning for blood??? So. Yeah.  
> Enjoy some Ganondorf whump.

Early the next morning, just as the mist was clearing from the ground, the group left the Lost Woods.

The Koroks gave some mushrooms and fruit for them to eat on their way back to Woodland Stable.

The Deku Tree wished them luck on their journey and his gaze lingered on Ganondorf who looked away from the tree’s penetrating look.

Mt. Lanayru was just past Lanaryu Promenade and Naydra Snowfield. From what Astrid said, the next temple was possibly in the Promenade so it was on the way anyway. It wasn’t too far out of the way for Ganondorf to visit the Spring of Wisdom. He had mentioned it to Link and Zelda who appeared to be all right with the slight detour.

Astrid waved at the Koroks from her perch on Ganondorf’s shoulder as the group departed. They quickly passed by the military camp, able to get by without incident.

Grabbing their horses from the Woodland Stable, they continued towards the Promenade.

“What’s the faster route?” Bazz asked as he and the other two Zora walked beside the horses.

Letting Helltrotter continue to walk on his own, Ganondorf grabbed his map so he could look at it.

“If we head down towards Wetland Stable, we can go up Sahasra Slope and through—shit.”

Link raised an eyebrow as Zelda asked, “What?”

Ganondorf grimaced as he gripped the map. “The quickest way to the Promenade is through Kakariko Village.”

Link furrowed his eyebrows before he appeared alarmed as he remembered what Kakariko Village was.

“Shit,” Zelda whispered.

Going through the Sheikah village didn’t bode well. Especially with nearly all of them supporting King Rhoam. They were bound to know Ganondorf was wanted and recognize him.

“Is there another way?” Sidon murmured, sensing the group’s distress.

Ganondorf stared at the map for several minutes before he sighed, shaking his head. “Any other route would require a lot of mountain climbing and we’d reach Naydra Snowfield first. It’s too cold for you Zora to handle so quickly.”

Mipha nodded in understanding before she said, “But you are going up to Mt. Lanayru. That’s cold.”

“Yes. That’s part of the idea of visiting the spring. Temper the body through braving the cold then temper the spirit through bathing in the spring.”

“How interesting,” Sidon said. “It’s much like the test Zora go through to join the guard.”

 **What do they have to do?** Link asked, looking at Sidon in interest.

“They have to get a shock arrow from the Lynel that stalks near the ridge by the reservoir. Shock arrows are deadly to our kind, you see. Then they have to jump from Shatterback Point before the Lynel spots them. A lot of potential guards balk at the idea of being near the Lynel.”

“Did Bazz have to do that as well?” Zelda asked, glancing at Bazz who began to appear embarrassed at all the attention on him.

Mipha giggled. “Oh, yes. He became captain not only because of his skill with a spear but because he grabbed _four_ shock arrows from the Lynel.”

Bazz cleared his throat. “It was nothing. I was just showing the recruits that the test wasn’t that difficult.”

But it had been difficult. Bazz had only gotten four arrows because he knew Mipha had been watching. And for some reason, almost getting caught by the Lynel several times made him feel superior and a bit dizzy with anxiety.

Despite being Demon Seggin’s son, Bazz didn’t have the electrical resistance his father did. So he proved his worth not through the test, but through spear fighting and swordsmanship and archery. His skill rivaled Sidon.

“It was still very brave,” Mipha murmured, smiling at Bazz.

A blue spread across Bazz’s face and Sidon chuckled at the captain’s embarrassment. Bazz elbowed him before he could say anything.

Sidon held up his hands in defeat.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------

In a little over an hour, the group arrived at one of the entrances to Kakariko. They stopped by the gates as they debated on what to do.

“Perhaps if we just go through, we’ll get to the other end without trouble?” Sidon asked.

Zelda shook her head. “They’ll recognize Ganon. I’m sure there are wanted posters for him.”

“If there was a way to disguise him,” Mipha murmured, tapping the side of her cheek.

Link frowned before he perked up and slid down from Epona’s saddle. He went to Ganondorf, tapping his leg to get his attention.

Ganondorf looked down to see him holding up a hand. “What?”

**Give me your Rupee.**

His Rupee? The one from the temple?

“What? What for?”

**The shop could have a hood. We can use it to shield your face.**

“What a wonderful idea!” Zelda said. “With that, we could pass through relatively easily.”

Ganondorf made a face before he reached into his pocket and flipped the Rupee at Link. “Don’t make me regret this.”

Link grinned and saluted before he ran into the village.

Ganondorf sighed as Helltrotter shifted. “Let’s hope his idea works.”

"His ideas usually do,” Zelda said.

“Remember the cuccos?”

“I said _usually_.”

“What happened with the cuccos?” Mipha asked with an amused smile.

It had to be a good story if it made Zelda embarrassed.

“He decided it’d be cool to throw stones at a few cuccos when we were ten,” Ganondorf explained. “It’s all fun and games until they retaliated. We had to hide up a tree for hours until they left.”

Sidon chuckled. “I take it he learned to never bother the cuccos again?”

“You would think,” Zelda mumbled, tightening her grip on Bluebell’s reins. “A week later, he did the same thing.”

“Does he have a death wish?” Bazz murmured, not sure why Link would purposely antagonize cuccos shortly after being attacked by them.

“You should have seen the time he challenged the Applean Forest Hinox with a stick,” Ganondorf chuckled. “It threw him in the river.”

“A Hinox?” Sidon asked, appearing amused by Link’s bravery. Or stupidity. “He must be a good fighter then to challenge such a behemoth.”

“No, he’s just stupidly brave,” Zelda sighed.

The Triforce of Courage made their wearer pretty much fearless but she feared that it took self-preservation instincts with it.

Mipha laughed. “He sounds interesting to be around.”

“Sure makes our lives less boring,” Ganondorf murmured, rolling his eyes.

 _And more hectic,_ Zelda thought.

Link returned, waving the hood above his head and gesturing to it eagerly. He handed it to Ganondorf.

Staring at the small piece of dark-colored cloth warily, Ganondorf managed to get it to cover his face enough to look less conspicuous.

Link gave a thumbs up and a grin before he returned to Epona.

“Let’s get through quickly,” Ganondorf whispered, tugging the hood down a bit further.

The group entered the village. As they walked through, a few villagers stared at them.

Ganondorf wasn’t sure if it was because of him or the Zora who weren’t generally seen too far from their home. Sidon himself was pretty impressive. Perhaps they were staring at him.

They passed through with little incident, making their way past the forest on the village outskirts and beginning the trek to the promenade’s west gate.

Once they were far enough away, Ganondorf threw off the hood with a sigh,

That had gone smoother than he had expected.

A half hour later, the group passed through the gate and entered Lanayru Promenade.

Astrid popped up on Ganondorf’s head. “There is definitely a temple here.”

“Here?” Zelda asked. “You’re sure?”

Astrid nodded with a giggle.

“Good,” Ganondorf said, satisfied that Astrid was now certain of the temple’s existence. “We can kill two birds with one stone.”

He halted Helltrotter and jumped down.

“How are we going to find the temple?” Sidon asked. “I’ve not seen nor heard of a temple here.”

 **Then we’ll look for it,** Link said. **Split up.**

“What a marvelous idea!” Mipha said, clapping her hands. “It would make the search go faster.”

Ganondorf looked at Astrid. “Can’t you lead us to the temple like last time?”

Astrid remained silent for a bit before she shook her head. “I can’t pinpoint the location.”

Her leaf seemed to wilt.

“I’m sorry.”

Ganondorf patted her head. “That’s fine. Splitting up it is.”

“I’ll go with Link,” Sidon piped up, pointing to the Promenade’s opposite shore. “We’ll search that side.”

“Mipha and I can search the upper walkways,” Zelda said, looking up at the catwalks crossing over the promenade.

As the four left to go to their designated spots, Ganondorf and Bazz stared at each other.

“I guess that leaves us,” Ganondorf said.

“Yeah,” Bazz muttered awkwardly.

\------------------------------------------------------------------

“You and Bazz seem pretty close,” Zelda murmured as she and Mipha searched the promenade’s upper walkways for any sort of strange symbols.

Mipha appeared startled, whipping to look at Zelda as a blue blush cross her face. “What? No, he’s just the guard captain. He protects me and Sidon and the Domain.”

Zelda raised an eyebrow, a smirk obvious even with the mask covering her face.

Mipha sighed, headtail flicking. “It’s that obvious, huh?”

“To me, at least. Boys can be dense when it comes to feelings. How come you haven’t told him?”

“Oh, no, I can’t. Muzu would have a heart attack. And besides, usually the male starts courtship first.”

"Really?” Zelda frowned as she stared at a carving in the wall but after finding it wasn’t anything important, she moved on. “He hasn’t done that yet?”

“It’s possible he isn’t interested in me. I think he likes Gaddison.”

Zelda gave a hum before she said, “Don’t give up. He may surprise you.”

Mipha glanced at Zelda with a small smile. “Thank you.”

\-----------------------------------------------------------------

“Do you think a temple would lie in such an obvious place?” Sidon murmured as he stared at a wall drawing.

Link gave a shrug as he stared at the ground for any obvious sort of symbol.

So far they hadn’t found anything interesting.

“Perhaps it’s in the water?” Sidon suggested.

Link stared at the water skeptically before he shook his head. He did not want another water temple, thank you very much.

**Look for anything that could be a switch.**

“It looks like there’s a pathway behind the waterfall,” Sidon said, pointing to the waterfall that crashed into the promenade’s still water. “Perhaps that may hold a clue?”

Behind waterfalls were promising. They could always hold clues.

Link nodded and they headed to the waterfall.

Sidon paused when Link suddenly grabbed his arm and he stared down at the Hylian. “Yes?”

Link was staring intently at something as he dug his nails into the Zora’s scales before pointing at something.

**FROG.**

Sidon looked to where Link was pointing and sure enough several feet away a single hot-footed frog was lazily hopping around.

“Yes, I see. Do you like frogs?”

Link had already dropped into a crouch and crept towards the frog.

Sidon watched in amusement as the Hylian attempted to catch the frog.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ganondorf ran his hands along the wall, feeling for anything unusual, while Bazz looked at the walkway.

Astrid was reclining down Ganondorf’s shoulder, comfortable with her perch.

“Find anything yet?” Ganondorf asked, glancing at Bazz.

The Zora shook his head. “Not yet.”

The two went back to silence as they continued to look.

Astrid leaped up when she sensed something, spotting a black tendril lifting out of the water. “Look out!”

Bazz and Ganondorf looked at Astrid’s alarm, noticing the tendril as it lashed out towards them.

The tendril wrapped around Ganondorf’s throat and yanked him into the water.

Ganondorf struggled to grab his swords to hack the tendril off him, but several more wrapped around his wrists to stop him.

“Ganondorf!” Bazz yelled, diving into the water to swim after him.

Astrid squeaked and disappeared, reappearing by Zelda and Mipha to yell, “Something grabbed Ganny!”

“What?!” Zelda asked.

The tendrils appeared to be trying to drag Ganondorf down to the bottom of the promenade and Bazz struggled to keep up with them.

A tendril released Ganondorf and lashed out, striking the Zora’s chest plate.

The hit dented the metal and Bazz halted at the pain reverberating through his chest. That was enough for the tendril to disappear with Ganondorf.

Glancing around the murky water, Bazz swam a few more times around where the tendrils had gone but didn’t find anything. He swam to the surface and jumped out onto the pathway, fumbling with the chest plate before unlatching it and letting it drop to the ground.

He looked at the bruise already beginning to form on his chest, rubbing it gently.

“Bazz!”

Bazz looked up to see Zelda and Mipha running towards him.

“We heard about Ganondorf!” Zelda said. “Where is he?”

“Some tendril thing dragged him beneath the water. I tried to follow but it struck me.”

“You’re injured!” Mipha gasped, moving closer and touching his chest to check for another injury.

Bazz cleared his throat, struggling to ignore her touching him as he looked at Zelda. “I lost sight of them.”

“He’s still under the water?!” Zelda squeaked, looking ready to jump into the water herself.

Link shook his head as he grabbed her arm.

“I’ll search,” Sidon offered, setting a hand against his chest. “Perhaps the beast left clues.”

Before Zelda could protest, Sidon had already dived into the water and beneath the surface.

Link looked at Bazz. **You said a black tendril?**

“Yes.” Bazz nodded, not failing to notice Mipha’s touch lingering a bit too long. “Three. One dented my chest plate.”

Link frowned as he bit his finger in contemplation.

There was only one amorphous black creature he could think about but it hadn’t been able to turn into tendrils. And he had defeated it. Right?

Unless it was something completely different.

He remembered Ganondorf’s words about the spider in the forest temple being a guardian. Perhaps it was also a guardian.

 _For Ganondorf?_ Link wondered.

A guardian of a temple for a single person? He supposed it wasn’t out of the question.

Sidon broke the surface of the water. “Hey! I found a structure down in the depths.”

“A structure?” Zelda asked.

“What sort of structure?” Mipha questioned, looking at Sidon.

“I can’t tell. Even my bioluminescence can’t distinguish it. Whatever it is, it’s huge and has no entrances.”

Link set his jaw.

That was a temple. So, whatever had grabbed Ganondorf was a test meant solely for him.

 _A test for what though?_ Link wondered.

Whatever it was, Link was certain that Ganondorf would pass it easily.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ganondorf was thrown from the water, landing on solid ground with a grunt. He got onto his hands and knees to cough up some water he had inhaled during his capture before shaking his head to clear his vision.

He slowly looked around to see a locked door near him and across a patch of water was another door. In the middle was some sort of contraption.

It looked like a—

“A temple?” Ganondorf murmured to himself, slowly dragging himself to his feet.

“Hello, Ganondorf.”

At the voice, Ganondorf instantly whirled around, unsheathing his blades. He froze at what he saw.

Four males and an enormous, bipedal boar. All were entirely black with glowing red eyes.

He recognized them easily. Demise stood out among the group with his size. Next to him were the Ganondorfs from the Eras of Time, Twilight, and the Great Sea. The boar was from the Era of Light and Dark. The only time he hadn’t had a true, human form other than his alter ego Agahnim.

Ganondorf stared at all of them warily.

Shades? Was this a test? It had to be a test.

 _Test what?_ Ganondorf wondered. _Whether I can beat my demons?_

“You should be seizing the destiny that is yours,” Twilight Ganondorf growled. “Why do you stall?”

“You’ve had several opportunities to kill your enemies,” Time Ganondorf agreed. “Yet you haven’t at all.”

“Kill the Princess and the Hero!” Demise snarled. “They’re your enemies. They always will be your enemies. If you don’t kill them, they’ll kill you.”

Ganondorf frowned before he said, “They’re my friends. We’re not going to abide by the cycle this time.”

“You will obey the cycle!” Beast Ganondorf snarled. “No matter what you do you can’t break it. Because,”

“You are us,” all the shades intoned.

Ganondorf remained silent for a bit, remembering Link’s words.

_You aren’t them._

“You’re wrong. I’m not like you.”

The Ganondorfs looked at Demise.

“Then it’s time to start a new cycle,” Demise said, tilting his head towards Ganondorf.

Drawing his twin blades, Great Sea Ganondorf charged at Ganondorf.

Ganondorf met him halfway, their blades clashing.

They pushed against each other, trying to overpower the other before briefly breaking to begin slamming their swords against the other’s blades repeatedly.

“You cannot beat me, young seapup,” Great Sea Ganondorf growled. “I know all your moves.”

Ganondorf grunted as they continued to clash, glancing to his side to see that Twilight and Time Ganondorf were slowly creeping to either side to attack while he was distracted.

The second they lunged, Ganondorf shoved Great Sea Ganondorf back then kicked him in the chest. Then he lifted his swords up on either side of himself, the swords of the Six Sages and Time Ganondorf’s trident crashing against them.

Thrusting both of them back, Ganondorf sprang at Time Ganondorf, driving both blades into the shade, one in his chest and one in his forehead. As he pulled them out, the shade disintegrated.

One down, four to go.

Demise stayed behind, watching the battle calmly. He occasionally paced from one side to the other almost impatiently.

Beast Ganondorf stepped forward as Time and Great Sea Ganondorf stepped backward. He twirled his trident then lashed out with one end.

Ganondorf backed up as he blocked the attacks.

As his back hit a wall, Beast Ganondorf gave a rumbling laugh as he purposely stabbed his trident out, the sharp edge cutting a small slice into Ganondorf’s left upper arm.

He pulled back, grabbing the shaft of his trident in his other hand, prongs aimed for Ganondorf’s chest.

As it came towards him, Ganondorf lifted up his blades, both catching in the prongs. He twisted his blades sharply to disarm Beat Ganondorf, dropping his blades as he grabbed the trident.

Alarmed, Beast Ganondorf stepped back with a growled, “Wait—”

Ganondorf lunged at Beast Ganondorf, stabbing the trident deep into the monster’s throat. As Beast Ganondorf toppled backward, Ganondorf used the momentum to stand on the boar’s chest, shoving the trident deeper.

As the shade disappeared, Ganondorf glanced up at the other three shades, eyes burning a faint gold.

Twilight Ganondorf gave a grunt, dropping to all fours as he shifted to Ganon. Pawing at the ground, he snorted and shook his head before charging.

Ganondorf straightened, holding out his hand.

Flames erupted from his fingertips, striking Twilight Ganon head on.

The boar squealed, rearing up from the burning flames.

As the flames dissipated, Great Sea Ganondorf came rushing through the smoke, blades slashing outward.

The tips caught Ganondorf’s forehead, blood spurting out in an X-shape.

Ganondorf stumbled back with a scream, clutching his forehead as the blood dripped into his eyes. He glared at the three shades before he held out both hands and another stream of flames exploded from this fingertips, larger than last time and engulfing both Twilight and Great Sea Ganondorf completely.

When the flames died down, the only shade left standing was Demise.

Ganondorf scowled at him, breathing heavily as a faint sweat trickled down the back of his neck.

Demise smirked. “That magic takes a lot out of you, didn’t you realize?”

Ganondorf bared his teeth at the demon before he dropped to one knee, supporting himself on his hands. The second he looked back up, Demise was right in front of him, the jagged Sword of Despair swinging out and slicing a long cut across his chest, tearing his shirt and part of his jacket.

Before Ganondorf could even comprehend the pain from Demise’s blade ripping into his skin, the demon used the flat of his blade to slam into the redhead, sending him crashing into the far wall.

“You may have been able to beat them, but you cannot beat the original,” Demise growled slowly, beginning to approach Ganondorf as the other struggled to get to his feet despite the pain lancing through him.

Ganondorf managed to get to his hands and knees, but a sword tip pressed against his throat.

“Now, give up on this foolish endeavor. What do you think will happen if you do this? That she’ll fall in love with you? That you could be happy?” Demise gave a low chuckle as he tapped his sword against Ganondorf’s chin. “Don’t be absurd. Who could ever love a monster?”

Ganondorf scowled at Demise, glancing down briefly to see that his swords lay nearby. He smirked at Demise. “Even if this all goes to hell, at least I can say I spit in the goddess’s faces.”

Holding up his hand, Ganondorf shot a fireball at Demise’s face, causing the demon to reel back with a roar. Taking advantage of Demise’s distraction, Ganondorf lunged to the side to grab his swords. He turned over on his back and flipped to his feet.

Demise howled and rushed at him. Ganondorf charged back, driving both of his blades into the demon’s chest.

The serrated edged of Demise’s sword barely scraped the side of Ganondorf’s neck.

Demise bared his teeth in a grin. “I wish you the best in your foolish undertaking, little one. May Hylia’s blessing follow you in the darkest of shadows.”

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------

A rumbling noise caught the group’s attention and they looked towards the water just as structure rose up from beneath the surface, water cascading off the sides.

It screeched to a halt and a door slid open, a walkway rising from the water seconds later.

“Is that the temple?” Zelda asked.

Link gave a nod. **Has to be.**

“That’s the structure I saw beneath the water,” Sidon said.

“Then Ganondorf’s in there!” Zelda said excitedly. “Let’s go!”

Before she could step onto the walkway, a figure staggered out of the temple’s entrance, leaning against the side of the doorway.

 **Ganon!** Link signed when he recognized the figure.

Ganondorf raised a hand in greeting then gestured behind him. “I found the temple.”

He took a step forward then collapsed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for any mistakes xD I wanted to get this up.  
> I'll be getting the next chapter of 10k Years up as soon as I can :3  
> Special thanks to everyone on my discord for grounding me against negative thoughts concerning this story xD It hasn't been taken down yet and I don't think it will! :) I hope you look forward to chapter 10, another temple chapter :))


	10. Arc 1: Water Temple

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It seems like this will be updated every week aahah  
> As long as I maintain my motivation xD

“Astrid, stay off him.”

The Korok giggled as she was plucked from her perch on Ganondorf’s stomach.

“She’s fine,” Ganondorf murmured at Zelda, rubbing the side of his forehead with two fingers.

“You need to rest,” Zelda insisted, cradling Astrid close to her.

“Are you feeling better?” Sidon asked, glancing over at Ganondorf.

He was crouched by Link who was making something that smelled a bit spicy.

The cooking meat made Ganondorf’s mouth water.

“Really, I’m fine,” Ganondorf said. “Your sister did a good job.”

Mipha smiled at the praise.

She had healed Ganondorf’s injuries quickly but the redhead had remained unconscious for several hours. In that time, the group had gotten several things done. While Link and Sidon had returned to the forest outside Kakariko to apparently ask the Great Fairy that resided there to borrow a fairy for Ganondorf. Then Link had made a health potion while Mipha worked on closing Ganondorf’s wounds.

Ganondorf hadn’t touched the health potion yet. The smell of it made his stomach curdle. Whatever was in it—whether it was supposed to help him or not—smelled awful.

The fairy had healed Ganondorf to feel less exhausted and scar over his injuries. It had taken some of Zelda’s persuading though. Apparently, some fairies didn’t like to be captured in a bottle then ordered to heal someone.

With Ganondorf feeling better and able to sit up, the group sat in an alcove of the promenade while Link cooked something for them to eat.

Ganondorf let his gaze move to the temple that had risen from the water before he looked away, glancing down at his torn and bloody shirt. “Anyone know how to sew?”

“I know a bit,” Zelda said, “but I don’t have the proper equipment.”

“If we had a needle and some thread, we could fix it,” Mipha sighed, resting her chin in her hand.

“Perhaps a merchant will have something?” Bazz asked, looking towards the few people that trickled through the promenade.

“A good idea!” Sidon piped up, grinning at the guard captain. “I’m sure we could ask to borrow the items if they have them.”

“I’ll go ask,” Zelda said, setting Astrid back in Ganondorf’s lap and trotting out to the walkway.

“Do you feel better, Ganny?” Astrid asked, staring up at Ganondorf.

 _Ganny?_ Ganondorf wondered as he gave a nod.

“You should drink the potion,” Mipha said. “Link went to a lot of trouble to make it.”

Link gave a sharp look at Ganondorf as he stirred the rice and meat mixture cooking in the pot.

Ganondorf sighed as he picked up the bottle of red liquid, pulling off the cork. He grimaced at the smell of boiled lizard and what was quite possibly Bokoblin guts before looking at Link.

The blond was staring at him intently, waiting for Ganondorf to take the potion.

Heaving a long-suffering sigh, Ganondorf gulped the red potion quickly, a shiver going through him as he finished it.

It tasted even worse. Burnt guts and lizard meat.

 _How did he even stand these?_ Ganondorf wondered as he glanced at Link who appeared to be smug about Ganondorf’s reaction.

Ganondorf remembered how the blond had drank the red potions like they were water. Did all health potions taste the same? They had to, right?

Ganondorf gave another shiver as he was handed a plate with rice and meat stew.

 **Meat curry,** Link signed as he and Sidon began to divvy up the food.

“Thanks,” Ganondorf muttered, taking a few bites of the spiced meat.

“It smells delicious,” Mipha said as she took a bite. “And tastes delicious too!”

Link smiled a bit as he set a plate aside for Zelda when she returned. Then he settled next to Sidon to start eating with the others.

Astrid picked at bits of Ganondorf’s food, mumbling, “Yummy!” under her breath.

While the group ate, Zelda returned and held up a roll of thread with a small needle attached.

“I got one! It’s not exactly the same color, but it should work.” Zelda moved closer to Ganondorf and began to try and yank off his shirt. “Come on, take it off!”

“I’m eating, woman!” Ganondorf snapped, holding his plate out of range in one hand while shoving Zelda’s face with his other hand. “Can this wait?!”

Astrid giggled at the interaction while the group watched with smirks.

 **Get a room,** Link signed, grinning at the two more when they realized they were being watched.

Zelda quickly moved back and waved her hands, stammering, “I-I didn’t mean like t-that! I just want to fix his s-shirt before we tackle the temple!”

“It was a bit aggressive,” Sidon murmured while Bazz and Mipha nodded.

Ganondorf sighed, setting his plate down. He shrugged out of his jacket then pulled his shirt over his head, holding it out to Zelda. “Here. Fix it then eat. We need our strength.”

Zelda took the shirt slowly, her eyes catching the three scars running across Ganondorf’s side from Skye’s claws. She moved away so she could start stitching the large hole in Ganondorf’s shirt.

Ganondorf slipped his jacket back on to keep the promenade’s chill at bay, picking up his plate so he could resume eating.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Once they had finished their meal, the three made their way into the temple while Astrid and the Zora remained outside for their return.

Ganondorf looked around as they stood on the platform inside the door.

A moat of water separated them from the floor across the way where a door sat. Above the water four Froaks floated, stubby tails waving to keep them airborne. Two blue Chuchu slithered along the floor.

 _Those weren’t there before,_ Ganondorf thought, eyeing the monsters.

The temple was ready for them.

While Ganondorf searched for a way across the water without getting wet, Zelda stared at the floating Froaks.

“Aw, they’re so cute!”

Link grabbed her arm and shook his head.

 **Volatile,** he signed before taking out his bow and an arrow.

The second the arrow made contact with one of the Froaks, it exploded.

Zelda shrunk back against Ganondorf with a small, “Oh.”

The middle column was gone. That was what was different.

“We need to get a platform up,” Ganondorf said. “Then we’ll be able to skip across.”

“Then there has to be a trigger somewhere,” Zelda said.

Link scratched his cheek before deciding to shoot down the other three Froak. Then he aimed at the Chuchu and destroyed them.

Along the side wall, a panel slid up to reveal an eye. Link shot it and the eye closed.

Seconds later a platform rose out of the water.

Link smiled at them smugly.

Ganondorf shook his head with a grumbled, “Stop showing off.”

One at a time, they hopped across to the other side.

Zelda made no comment about the blood streaked on the floor as Link opened the door to a hallway.

The hallway curved to the left. Three Tektites hopped down the hallway, one single Chuchu guarding the door leading to another area of the temple.

Link shot the Tektites in their single eye to down them while Ganondorf stabbed the Chuchu.

He made a face when Link picked up the Chuchu jelly left behind. “What the heck do you want with that?”

**The jelly makes a good frozen treat.**

“Ew, you eat that?” Zelda muttered, scrunching up her face.

She knew Link was fond of all types of food, but she hadn’t been aware that Chuchu jelly had been one.

Link gave a shrug. **Tastes like palm fruit.**

Ganondorf tried to remember the one time he had tried a palm fruit from a Lurelin vendor. It was mostly water with a slight crisp taste of nut. Or was it apple?

He decided not to question it as he moved the door up to let them into the next room.

The floor was covered with orange tiles and at the far end were two Chuchu which were quickly dispatched by Link. Two doors led to the left and right while one went straight, covered with silver chains.

As Link moved to grab the jelly, the door behind them and the two off to the left and right were blocked by bars.

Several tiles floated up from the floor and began to spin before they suddenly launched themselves at the three.

“Flying tiles?!” Ganondorf asked as they all dove to separate sides to avoid the tiles. “Are you joking?!”

After the first few smashed against the wall, several more replaced them. The group avoided all the tiles that had a vendetta against them until all tiles were gone, leaving a 4x4 puzzle exposed in the middle of the floor. The bars on the door behind them slid up, but the bars on the doors leading left and right remained.

“A puzzle,” Zelda murmured, approaching the square. She stared at the strange slash of blue, green and yellow, tilting her head to try and make sense of it.

The last row of the puzzle lacked tiles.

 **What do we do?** Link asked as Ganondorf knelt beside the puzzle.

He touched a tile and moved it down. He made a noise. “It’s a sliding puzzle. I think we need to make a picture.”

“A picture of what?”

“Not sure.”

Link frowned as he stared at the puzzle, gripping his chin.

“Maybe there’s a clue somewhere,” Zelda said as she went to look for a clue.

Ganondorf played with a few of the tiles, sliding some down or to the side, trying to see if he could figure out what the picture was supposed to be. He made what appeared to be a yellow body and gasped. “It’s a crab!”

 **A crab?** Link asked, staring at the picture.

Ganondorf nodded as Zelda came back to watch the redhead as he began to rapidly slide the tiles into their correct positions.

“Claws up here, body here, legs….and done!”

The puzzle lit up. The bars on the locked doors slid up.

“That’s amazing, Gan!” Zelda said with a grin.

Ganondorf gave a hum, smirking at Link. “I can temple, too.”

Link rolled his eyes, shoving Ganondorf.

“Which one first?” Zelda asked, looking at the doors.

“That one.” Ganondorf pointed to the door on the right. “I’m sure one of them has the key we need.”

The door opened to a hallway with two Chuchu, easily taken care of. At the end of the small hallway was a room with two spinners going side to side, blades whirring. Between them were two Chuchu. At the end was a small chest.

Link shot the two Chuchu.

Seconds after he did, several tiles near the chest lifted up and flew at them.

Ganondorf sliced through them with a sword. “Who designs these places?!”

Link and Zelda gave a shrug as Ganondorf defeated the last of the flying tiles, using the tall redhead as a shield in case he missed.

“One of us should go get whatever is in that chest,” Ganondorf said. He looked at Link pointedly.

 **Why me?!** Link asked, appearing offended.

“You’re smaller than I am. And Zelda would probably trip near a spinner.”

Zelda stared at the bladed traps nervously.

Link gave a huff before he watched the spinners to get used to their pattern then moved past the first one. He went past the second one and went to the chest, throwing open the lid. He showed the group a red Rupee.

“That’s it?” Ganondorf groaned. “That means the other room has the key.”

Link returned to the group, pocketing the Rupee.

“Then let’s go,” Zelda said.

They left the trap room and returned to the puzzle room before heading to the door on the left.

Two Chuchu in the hallway were easily taken care of as well as the one in the second room.

At the back of the room was a chest, but just as Ganondorf was about to go towards it, Link grabbed his arm.

He looked at Link. “What?”

Link pointed at the cracked floor. **Breaks easy.**

Zelda and Ganondorf stared at the floor, noticing that nearly all of it appeared to be breakable.

“How do we get to the chest then?” Zelda asked, looking at the chest taunting them.

“One of us goes across,” Ganondorf said. “Run to the chest then run back before the floor crumbles.”

 **I went last time,** Link said. **Your turn now.**

“I’m too heavy,” Ganondorf said.

They looked at Zelda who flinched.

“Me?!” she squeaked. “Oh, I can’t. I don’t think I can go fast enough.”

“Don’t think about the floor breaking. You’re light enough it should be able to handle two trips.”

Zelda still didn’t feel comforted by that but she nodded, taking a deep breath as she focused her gaze on the chest rather than the at the floor.

She bolted to the chest, set on a stable piece of floor, and opened it quickly, yanking out a silver key. With it in her grasp, she ran back to the others.

Several Chuchu dropped from the ceiling, causing her to stop briefly and jump to a different side to avoid them, the Chuchu’s weight causing the floor to crumble beneath them.

Several dropped in front of her, blocking her exit. She stopped then moved to another tile, searching for a way past the Chuchu.

“You’re going to have to jump!” Ganondorf called. “I’ll catch you!”

Zelda glanced at him then at the two tiles beneath a Chuchu that crumbled, she jumped the gap.

Ganondorf grabbed her outstretched her hand, yanking her onto solid ground. He grinned. “Told you I’d catch you.”

Zelda rolled her eyes, shoving him as he chuckled.

The three returned to the previous room and unlocked the chained door, opening it to reveal a staircase spiraling upward.

“Two floors?” Ganondorf asked as they climbed the steps.

The first temple had only one floor.

 _Are they going to get harder?_ He wondered.

On the second floor, the first room they entered contained two Chuchu, two Froaks, and two Tektites. A 4x3 square of gold tiles sat in the middle of the floor.

“What’s all these tiles for?” Zelda asked while Link shot down the two Froaks.

Ganondorf sliced the Tektites that hopped towards them in half while Link took care of the Chuchu. He stared at the tiles, but so far they remained still.

 **Another puzzle?** Link asked, kneeling down to touch one.

The gold faded to reveal a picture of an owl.

The three looked at each other before Ganondorf touched the tile nearest to him which turned into a dragon.

There was a buzzer sound before the pictures returned to gold.

“A matching game,” Zelda realized.

“We should do a process of elimination to find the correct ones,” Ganondorf suggested. “The far right middle is an owl, so let’s find that one first.

Zelda touched a tile on the bottom middle, revealing an owl. She gasped. “I found it!”

“Good.”

Link pushed the owl tile near him.

The two tiles went dim.

“The bottom left was a dragon,” Zelda murmured, pressing the tile. “Let’s try the top right.”

Ganondorf touched the top right tile, revealing a dragon.

Zelda smiled as the tiles dimmed. “This is fun.”

Ganondorf hummed as he touched the middle tile, revealing another dragon. He touched the one below it to uncover a dragon. “Halfway there.”

Link touched the bottom right corner, revealing a boar while Zelda touched the top left, revealing an owl.

The buzzer sounded again as the two tiles returned to normal.

 **Not that,** Link said, frowning.

“Another one,” Ganondorf said, pressing the boar tile again.

Zelda tried one of the left side tiles, flipping over a boar. “Four more!”

Link touched the top left tile to show an owl.

Ganondorf touched the last right side tile, revealing an owl.

Zelda slapped the last two tiles exactly, unlocking the door to the next room.

Link tapped Zelda and Ganondorf’s arms before holding up both of his hands.

Zelda gave him a high-five with a grin.

Rolling his eyes, Ganondorf gave Link a high-five.

The three moved onto the next room.

Two doors were on the left and right wall. The right door was covered with gold chains while the left was covered with bars.

Water sat in four corners of the room while two Tektites and Three Chuchu wandered around. In the middle of the room were six pieces of what appeared to be a stone statue.

“Another puzzle, huh,” Ganondorf muttered as Link shot the monsters.

Zelda approached the shattered statue, staring at it closely. “Looks like it could be an owl. See the beak and wing?”

Ganondorf stared at the pieces and nodded when he saw a wing. “So, we just got to put it back together.”

Link looked at each of the pieces before moving one then moving another.

Once they touched, the pieces melded together on their own.

Zelda moved the left wing against the melded pieces as Ganondorf moved the right wing.

As the two pieces fused together, Link moved one of the pieces and Zelda moved the last piece.

After the last piece of the now fixed owl statue was connected, the statue’s eyes glowed and the left door of the room unlocked.

“Guess that room has the boss key,” Ganondorf said, heading to the door and opening it.

Inside the next room was three simple chests.

Ganondorf grabbed the back of Link’s shirt before he could rush forward.

“It’s another trap and puzzle,” he growled. “We need to find a clue before we open any chests.”

“I see a sign,” Zelda said, pointing to a sing on the wall as she went over to read what it said. “Courage protects Wisdom. Wisdom weakens Power. Power battles Courage.”

Link pouted as he gave up trying to get out of Ganondorf’s grasp. **What does that mean?**

“Courage protects Wisdom,” Ganondorf muttered, looking at the chests which were marked with a dragon, owl, and a boar. “Okay, I got it. Link open the owl chest. Zelda open the boar chest. And I got the one with the dragon.”

Ganondorf released Link and moved to the chest marked with the dragon. Zelda moved to the one with the boar and Link moved to the one with the owl.

They opened their chests and were rewarded with fifty Rupees each.

“How did you solve that?” Zelda asked as she took her prize.

Ganondorf gave a shrug. “Link protects you. You weaken my abilities. I fight Link. Elementary, really.”

Zelda frowned. “It seems even these temples try to remind us of our fate.”

 **We won’t go back to the cycle,** Link assured with a reassuring smile. **Don’t lose hope.**

“Yeah. We’ll not play to the goddess’s fiddle this cycle.”

Zelda smiled at the two and nodded. “Right! Let’s go.”

When they returned to the room, a gold-trimmed chest waited for them.

Link opened it and pulled out the boss key.

“Almost done,” Ganondorf said.

“Close to the spring,” Zelda agreed.

 _And another memory, maybe,_ Ganondorf thought, frowning at the boss door as the chains fell to the ground.

Opening the door, the three passed into a room with a wide strip of floor in the middle of water. A stepping stone let them cross to the floor.

The second after Link touched the floor, the stone sank beneath the water.

Shortly after, a massive crab leaped out of the water in front of the three, snapping its green pinchers before shrieking. It then leaped back into the water, two Tektites falling to the floor on either side of the three.

“Okay, a crab boss,” Zelda said as Link and Ganondorf took care of the Tektites. “A hard shell…how do we get past the shell?”

A pincher raised up out of the water behind Zelda. Link spotted it and tackled her out of the way as it snapped shut where she had been. The pincher disappeared under the water.

“Let’s focus on the claws first,” Ganondorf snapped as another pincher appeared on the other half of the water. He stabbed the pincher when it opened.

There was as shriek and the pincher retreated. When it reappeared on the other side, Link shot the open pincher with an arrow, causing the crab to once again screech and leave.

The three waited and a few seconds later the pincher appeared in the same spot.

Zelda lunged with her short sword, stabbing the pincher.

Once again the pincher retreated. The crab leaped out of the water, pinchers snapping as it scuttled towards the three.

They all separated to different sides to avoid the pinchers.

Ganondorf gasped when he saw a small crack in the top of the crab’s shell. “I found the weak point!”

The crab turned and lunged a pincher at him.

Ganondorf automatically shot a fireball at the oncoming attack.

The crab shrieked, rearing back and exposing its weak point to Link and Zelda.

Link began to strike the hole with arrows while Zelda threw several knives at it, causing the shell to crack more.

The crab screamed, leaping back into the water as two more Tektites appeared.

The monsters were taken care of as the group watched out for a pincher.

Once one did, one of them stabbed it to force the crab to retreat. Two more attacks to the pinchers and the crab reappeared once more.

While Ganondorf distracted the crab, Zelda and Link abused the larger weak point.

The shell completely shattered, exposing the soft skin of the crab.

It retreated to the water once more.

“One more round,” Ganondorf growled, attacking a pincher when it appeared.

 **We got this!** Link signed with a grin.

Zelda gave a small laugh.

Fighting monsters was stressful, but with the two boys by her side, it made the battle fun.

Once the crab reappeared, the three charged it, stabbing it together with their swords. The crab shrieked at the blades piercing it, rearing back before sliding back into the water and sinking beneath the surface.

A stepping stone appeared in the water, the door unlocking and opening.

After exchanging another high-five, the three crossed the stepping stone and went into the room beyond where the spring waited for them.

"Second spring,” Zelda sighed as she stared at the calm water.

 **We’re kicking these temple’s butts!** Link signed, pumping a fist.

Ganondorf rolled his eyes as he took off his jacket and swords so they wouldn’t get wet.

Once the other two had taken off their weapons as well, the three stepped into the water.

Beneath the surface, their Triforce glowed.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------

_The salty smell of the sea air grounded her even against the boat’s rocking. The breeze brushed against her cheeks and seagulls called out in the distance._

_“Cap’n!” Niko called. “I see some land!”_

_"Then head towards it!”_

_“Aye aye!”_

_She stared at the slowly approaching island, wondering what sort of adventure would await her._

_\----------------------------------_

_The waves lapped against his ankles as he gazed out at the sparkling sea._

_There had to be more beyond his island._

_Something smacked against the back of his head and he whirled around to see Aryll laughing as she readied another wet ball of sand._

_He grinned and dropped to his knees, gathering his own sandball._

_Oh, it was so on._

_\-------------------------------------_

_That bastard king had ruined it. All he wanted was to wish Hyrule back into existence. What was so wrong with that? But no, the king—that daft old fool—had to go and touch the Triforce first and wish for Hyrule’s destruction._

_So now he was engaged in battle with the two brats that had hounded him every step of the way._

_But. No. He was tired. Too old to battle. And they were young. Perhaps they could…_

_He went easy on them, leaving blind spots open. Feeling the sting of the Light Arrows. He left himself wide open for the boy to drive the cursed blade through the diadem in the center of his forehead, a sense of relief washing over him like the waves of the ocean._

_\-------------------------------------------------------------_

The glows of the Triforce faded and the three glanced at each other. They said nothing of the memories granted to them, retrieving their weapons and leaving the temple.

Outside, the Zora and Astrid waited anxiously.

Sidon perked up when he saw them. “My friends! You have returned!”

“How did it go?” Mipha asked.

“Did you find the spring?” Bazz questioned.

Link nodded with a thumbs up.

“We did,” Zelda said.

“That’s the second one then,” Sidon said. “You have five more?”

Ganondorf gave a nod. “Yes. Somewhere.”

“We’ll be finished in no time,” Mipha assured, smiling at the three.

Ganondorf gazed towards the snow-covered Mt. Lanayru and Zelda followed his gaze.

“Are you sure you want to go alone?” she asked, setting a hand on his. “You don’t know what’s up there.”

“I have to. You two are below age. Do you want to upset the goddess?”

Zelda sighed, dropping her hand.

“We’ll be here eagerly awaiting your return,” Sidon said, pumping a fist with a toothy grin.

 **We can mark our next route on the map,** Link said.

“Good idea,” Bazz agreed. “We’ll be able to reach our next destination easily if we plot it out in advance.”

“I won’t be long,” Ganondorf murmured, heading away from the group with a wave. “I’ll tell you all about it when I return.”

 _Be safe,_ Zelda thought as she watched the redhead leave.

Link pouted before he suddenly grinned. **I can have dinner waiting for him when he comes back! What do you guys want?**

"I’ve always wanted to try salmon meuniere,” Mipha said.

“That sounds really good,” Sidon agreed.

**If you guys can get the salmon, I’ll find the wheat and butter!**

The Zora nodded with eager grins.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was extremely cold as he climbed up the winding road leading up to the Spring of Wisdom, the snow and wind biting at his exposed skin.

Even using a small fireball as a portable heat source helped little.

Ganondorf shuddered as he pulled his jacket around him tighter with one hand, his other hand occupied with the fireball. He squinted against the haze of snow as he came to the top of the mountain, ice columns jutting from the ground.

A spring sat in the middle, a stone statue of Hylia sitting above the water.

Ganondorf sighed.

He had made it. The quicker he bathed in the spring’s water, the quicker he could leave so he could warm up.

A heavy breath caught his ears and Ganondorf glanced up, immediately freezing at what he saw.

Coiled around the upper portion of the mountain, above the spring, was Naydra, the goddess’s messenger.

The dragon appeared to be asleep judging by its closed eyes.

Ganondorf took a step back.

One of Naydra’s eyes opened and looked in his direction. Then the dragon’s other eye opened and it lifted its head, snow particles falling from its scales and the great icy crest crowning its head. Icy breath escaped Naydra’s mouth and nostrils as the dragon opened its jaws.

“Hello, Spawn of Demise.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for any errors. I was going to check then decided what the heck we die like men  
> I hope you enjoy xD I like making up my own temples ahaha  
> Short memories this time sorry ><;


	11. Arc 1: A Dangerous Mind

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not been quite a week but hey I wanted to get it up. xD  
> It's sliiiightly shorter than the other chapters but not by too much :3

Ganondorf stared at Naydra as the great dragon stared at him.

He thought about reaching for his swords but he knew Naydra could freeze him faster than he could draw his blades.

Naydra gave what appeared to be a smile, lowering her head so she and Ganondorf were eye level. “Calm yourself. If I wanted you dead, you wouldn’t have made it this far. I’ve been awaiting your arrival.”

Ganondorf blinked in surprise. “You….knew I would come?”

“I can foresee multiple futures. In one, I saw your arrival to this spring.”

Ganondorf dropped his gaze at the statement. Multiple futures? Then….

“What about the others?”

“You forsook the Great Deku Tree’s advice and passed the spring. As a result, you suffered greatly for it.”

Ganondorf didn’t want to ask about what sort of suffering it had been. He had a feeling that he knew.

“The future is malleable like clay, young one. I didn’t wait here for you for I knew of the possibility of you not coming. I have recently arrived here, like you, once I saw that you would indeed arrive.”

“Then what do you have to tell me?” Ganondorf stared up at the dragon seriously. “You have advice, I assume.”

“Not advice. I wish to show you one of four possible futures I’ve seen concerning you. The others have below a 40% chance of coming to pass while this one is at 51%.” Naydra lowered her head slightly. “While it can possibly change, perhaps it will not.”

“Are you _allowed_ to show me the future?” Ganondorf asked skeptically, crossing his arms. “Isn’t that giving me an advantage?”

There was a rumbling chuckle from the dragon. “This future will be puzzle pieces. That way you don’t know too much, but you’re aware of what could possibly happen.”

Naydra dropped her lower half to the ground, holding up one paw, a claw outstretched towards Ganondorf.

“Of course, you can always say no. Sometimes not knowing is better.”

Ganondorf stared at the claw, debating on what he should do.

Seeing the future? Of course if he did, what if he tried to make it happen and instead fucked it up? Naydra said it would be puzzle pieces. Bits and pieces of the potential future? He didn’t have to tell the others, either.

Gritting his teeth, Ganondorf took a step forward, grabbing the dragon’s frozen claw and touching it to his forehead, closing his eyes.

The images he saw were blurred and rushed by too quickly to make out, but Ganondorf heard an animalistic roar, felt the heat of the desert on his skin, swore he heard the cry of a baby. Bells? Like a ceremony? Felt the weight of something on his head, like a crown. A crowd jeering.

**_Death to the False King!_ **

Ganondorf jerked back, dropping Naydra’s claw.

Naydra set her paw down. “Like I said, it may not come to pass. However, I have faith that with your endeavor of cleansing the sullied Triforce, you will see a fortuitous future.”

Ganondorf stared at the spring’s water and at his reflection, looking at the X-shaped scar on his forehead and the stubble steadily growing thicker down his cheeks and across his chin.

He swore he could see the Malice’s eye staring back at him, but when he blinked it was gone.

“Young one,” Naydra murmured, “if you worry too much about the future, you will never see what is in front of you in the present.”

Ganondorf lifted his head to stare up at the dragon who gazed at him in an almost maternal way. He closed his eyes, breathing out slowly.

Naydra was right.

Focusing solely on the future and thirsting for a way to change it was where he got into trouble.

Ganondorf gave a bow. “Thank you for your generosity, wise Naydra. I will not disappoint.”

“You needn’t bow to me, ancient king. I am a humble servant to Nayru. And I have one more piece of advice for you.”

Ganondorf glanced up at Naydra to see the dragon pulling a scale from her side before holding the scale out to him in a paw. He stepped closer and slowly took the scale that bit at his fingers with the cold of winter wind.

“Go to the temple buried in the Goddess’s cut. There you will be given your answers to the scale’s secrets.”

Ganondorf stared down at the scale in his hands before he slipped it into his pocket with a nod. “Of course. Thank you.”

Naydra gave a nod in return before she pushed off the ground and shot past Ganondorf, leaving a blast of chilling wind in her wake. “Good luck, Ganondorf Dragmire!”

Ganondorf stared after Naydra as she winded up into the bruising sky, the sun’s orange rays glinting bright off her scales like sun reflecting off freshly fallen snow.

He sighed then stared at the Hylia statue for a few seconds before giving a small bow.

“Thank you for your guidance.”

The mountain’s chill returned full force and Ganondorf shivered, pulling his jacket around him. He headed back down Mt. Lanayru.

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

As he approached the alcove where the group had temporarily set up camp, Ganondorf could smell the food cooking and hear laughter. He looked around the corner to see Sidon sitting in the center of the group with Mipha beside him and Bazz and Zelda sitting in front of him. Link crouched by the pot, stirring the contents as he listened to whatever Sidon was saying.

The group hadn’t noticed his arrival yet so Ganondorf leaned against the corner, arms crossed so he could let his hands continue to warm up.

“And an Octorok the size of Death Mountain itself—”

“Oh?” Mipha tittered while Bazz rolled his eyes in a gesture of _I’ve heard this story a hundred times before_. “Last time I heard this story, the Octorok was as big as Hebra Mountain.”

Sidon elbowed her and she swatted his arm in retaliation.

“The Octorok terrorized the poor sea village people and of course, I couldn’t stand by and let it continue to do as it pleased. So, I leapt into battle!”

“Did you kill it?” Zelda asked eagerly, completely enraptured by the story.

“After a long-fought battle, I managed to vanquish it. The people lauded me as a hero.”

“You forgot the part where it ate you,” Mipha pointed out.

Sidon hummed, rubbing his chin as his headtail flicked. “Ah, yes, it did do that, didn’t it?”

“Having fun telling tall tales, are we?” Ganondorf asked, pushing of the wall as he made his way over to the group.

Zelda gasped and stood up. “You’re back!”

“How did it go up on the mountain?” Bazz asked.

Link nodded, signing eagerly, **Tell us everything!**

Ganondorf thought about the vision he received and wondered if he should tell them. It was such a vague vision though. And adding unnecessary fear or apprehension over something that might _not_ come to pass would only hinder their journey. Instead, he pulled out Naydra’s scale.

“I think this is all you need to know.”

“You have the spirit Naydra’s scale!” Mipha gasped, clasping her hands together.

“You saw Naydra?” Zelda asked, slowly taking the scale to inspect it.

Ganondorf gave a nod. “She was awaiting my arrival.”

“She knew you were coming?” Sidon asked. “Did she foresee the future?"

“That’s what she told me.”

Zelda rubbed the scale with her thumb, feeling like Ganondorf wasn’t being entirely honest with his answers. “What else did she tell you?”

“What else matters? She gave me the scale and told me what we needed to do with them.”

Link tilted his head as Zelda looked at Ganondorf.

“She said we need to go to the temple buried in the Goddess’s cut.”

“A temple in the Goddess’s cut?” Bazz murmured. “I wonder what that means?”

Ganondorf sat close to the fire with a sigh, rubbing his hands before holding one out. “Can I see the map?”

“Ah.” Sidon grabbed the rolled-up map from his side, holding it out to the redhead. “We marked a route to Lurelin. It would take us back through Kakariko Village though.”

“I can see,” Ganondorf grunted, spotting the black line snaking through the Sheikah village and down to Dueling Peaks Stable.

He glanced up at a weight settling on his head and spotted Astrid staring at the map as well. He went back to looking at all the landmarks. He noticed an unmarked spot and pointed at it. “What’s this?”

Zelda knelt beside Ganondorf to see where he was pointing and saw a building-like structure at the far end of Tanagar Canyon. She hummed. “I….don’t know. I never heard of a building in Tanagar Canyon.”

Ganondorf tapped the spot. “This. We have to go here.”

“That’s all the way near Tabantha!” Sidon said in protest. “The complete opposite of where we’re going!”

“Then we can part ways here,” Ganondorf said, looking up at the Zora in exasperation. “You Zora can continue to Lurelin and we’ll go to Tanagar Canyon.”

Mipha frowned before she said, “Not to be rude, but it’s best to stick together.”

“Oh?” Ganondorf raised a challenging eyebrow as he looked at her. “How so?”

"You seem to be a magnet for trouble. If you get severely injured again, I won’t be here to help you. And I’ve heard there are a lot of monsters in that area, so extra muscle would be helpful rather than a hindrance.”

Ganondorf was about to protest when Zelda said, “What about your father? And the Sea Zora?”

“The Sea Zora don’t arrive in Lurelin for at least another month. And, Bazz?”

Bazz instantly straightened. “Yes, Your Highness?”

“Send word to our father of the change in plans. Tell him the Goddess’s servant Naydra told us where to go so he knows that it was a divine wish. Not even Muzu can protest that.”

Bazz stood up and saluted. “I will return by dawn, Your Highness!"

Ganondorf sighed as Bazz dove into the promenade’s waters. He rolled the map up. “Fine. I suppose that means you’re all still coming.”

“Admit you like our company,” Sidon said with a grin as he elbowed Ganondorf.

Ganondorf gave a grunt. “When Hebra melts.”

Sidon just kept grinning as Link began to set the finished paella onto plates.

Ganondorf took his plate, glad to get warm food into his system. After being in the cold for so long, it felt like the chill remained deep into his bones. As he took a bite, he let his gaze wander up, searching for Skye. He couldn’t see the dragon perched anywhere nearby. “Has anyone seen Skye?”

The group all looked around for any sign of the mechanical dragon.

“You know,” Mipha murmured, “I don’t think I’ve seen her since we left the Lost Woods.”

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Rhoam growled quietly as he glared at the map spread out on the desk, searching the landmarks for any answers. The X’s covering nearly 1/4th of the map were mocking him.

Leaning his hands on his desk, Rhoam mumbled, “Where are you, demon?”

It had been nearly two weeks since Ganondorf had kidnapped his daughter. And in all that time, he hadn’t stopped searching for either of them.

As usual, the wily Gerudo kept just out of his grasp. A rumor here, a report there. A tall, red-haired male traveling on a giant black horse with brimstone eyes.

That had to be him, but every time soldiers traveled to the place where the man was supposed to be, he mysteriously vanished.

There was knock on his door and Rhoam looked up.

“Enter.”

Impa opened the door and stood at the threshold, hands behind her back. “Your Highness, Purah is back with her Scout Dragon.”

Rhoam straightened immediately.

The dragon had been missing for nearly as long and it had been thought to be destroyed by Ganondorf.

“Take me to her.”

With a nod, Impa turned on her heel and strode out, Rhoam right behind her.

She led the king to the meeting room which had the table shoved to the side wall to accommodate the dragon’s size.

The two guards on either side of the door saluted as Rhoam passed into the room, the door shutting behind him.

Purah was tinkering with something in the dragon’s chest, sparks coming from whatever she was doing.

Impa cleared her throat as she discreetly kicked her sister’s foot to get Purah’s attention.

Purah glanced at Impa then noticed Rhoam standing nearby and instantly stood up. “Your Highness! I have found my Scout Dragon after so long of its disappearance. It doesn’t even look damaged, so I’m not sure where it had gone off to. Currently, I’m upgrading it’s targeting system and adding—”

“Does it have any information on the demon’s whereabouts?” Rhoam snapped, interrupting the Sheikah’s rambling.

Purah flinched at the sharp tone. “Ah, yes. I can access its visual feeds and we can see what it saw. Getting into its memory banks should be easy enough—”

“Do it now.”

With a rapid nod, Purah moved to the back of the dragon and opened a panel on the back of its head, attaching a wire. She attached the other end of the wire to a rectangular object which soon flashed and showed a wall, the direction of the dragon’s gaze.

“When do you want the visual feeds to start from, Your Highness?” Purah asked, pushing a few buttons on the object she held.

“When it first disappeared. I want to know where it went to.”

Purah nodded, pushing a few buttons on the slate until the image of the Zora’s Domain appeared. She handed the slate to Rhoam after pressing another button.

“So, it did find him,” Rhoam murmured as he watched the redhead deflect the dragon’s beam with his swords.

Ganondorf touched the dragon after it had been stunned and errors popped up in the dragon’s vision field, warning of a malignant program. Then everything returned to normal.

“He somehow managed to control the dragon remotely,” Purah said. “I don’t know how, but I reset the dragon with the slate.”

“Interesting,” Rhoam murmured as he watched through the dragon’s eyes to see what it had seen.

It had followed them. Three Zora had joined the demon and the blond Hylian farmer and a Sheikah.

The Zora traveling with them were concerning.

The burning of the Zora’s betrayal was sharp in Rhoam’s mind. The Zora had always been close to the royal family, like the Sheikah. The thought of them turning on him set him on edge.

These three Zora were aiding and abetting a fugitive.

What was even more concerning was the Sheikah. Rhoam knew all Sheikah were loyal to him.

He pointed to the Sheikah and showed the visual feed to the two Sheikah with him.

“Recognize this Sheikah?”

Impa and Purah stared at the Sheikah for a while before they shook their heads simultaneously.

Rhoam gave a hum, narrowing his eyes at Impa. “Are your people _betraying_ me, Impa? You know what happens to betrayers.”

Impa shook her head again, quickly. “Of course not, Your Highness!”

“I thought you had influence on everyone in your village.”

“I do, Your High—”

“Then _who_ is this Sheikah traveling with the demon?!” Rhoam’s voice raised as he shoved the slate at Impa. “He has to be one of your people!”

Impa stared at the Sheikah before pausing the feed and zooming in. She stared closely before saying, “Your Highness, this Sheikah has blond hair and blue eyes, our tribe has white hair and brown eyes. This person is impersonating a Sheikah, possibly from a long ago era when our people had blond hair.”

“Then who is it?” Rhoam asked quietly. “If a fake Sheikah is with him, then who are they really?”

Impa stared back at the picture, searching it for any clue that gave away the impersonator’s identity, she spotted a small scar on the Sheikah’s forehead, barely noticeable.

It could have been a coincidence, but she remembered Zelda getting a similar scar from falling out of a tree.

Impa bit her lip before looking at Rhoam. “I believe it may be Zelda, Your Highness.”

“Nonsense!”

“The Sheikah has a scar similar to the one Zelda received when she was seven. The blond hair and blue eyes confirm the Sheikah as a Hylian.”

Rhoam snatched the slate from Impa and stared at the scar closely. “Why would she dress up as a Sheikah?”

Impa exchanged a glanced with Purah but neither said anything.

Impa had an idea as to why Zelda felt the need to hide her identity but that would mean believing that her king had _lied_ about Zelda being kidnapped.

Rhoam handed the slate back to Purah. “Find where they are.”

Purah nodded, fiddling with the slate. After a few minutes she said, “Lanaryu Promenade.”

“The promenade?”

“It appears that Ganondorf departed from the group and went towards Mt. Lanaryu.”

“The Spring of Wisdom is there,” Impa murmured, crossing her arms with a frown. “Why go there?”

Rhoam barked a laugh. “Seeking help from the Goddess? The Goddess will not help his corrupted soul.”

“It looks like while he was gone, the Zora and Zelda made a route to their next destination.” Purah turned the slate around to show Rhoam a still photo of the map with the marked route shown. “Down to Dueling Peaks Stable.”

“Dueling Peaks, hm?” Rhoam set his hands behind his back as he walked a few feet away from the Sheikah. He remained silent for a bit then looked over his shoulder. “Purah.”

“Yes, Your Highness?”

“Send the dragon out again. Have it kill Ganondorf and capture Zelda as before.”

“Of course.” Purah gave a bow as Rhoam made his way to the door.

Rhoam paused with his hand on the doorknob. He looked back at Purah. “And, Purah.”

“Yes.”

“Order it to kill anyone that tries to prevent it from completing its task.”

Purah started, surprised at the statement she gave a slow bow as Rhoam opened the door. “Yes….Your Highness…”

The door closed after Impa and Purah stared down at the slate once more, frozen on a picture of the Zora.

She knew who they were. The daughter and son of King Dorephan. King Rhoam knew that. He had to.

Ordering the dragon to kill anyone that tried to stop it meant that it would try to kill the Zora as well.

Purah was certain they wouldn’t stand idly by while it tried to kill Ganondorf.

Sighing, Purah unhooked the wire from the dragon and closed the panel.

This was certain to start tension, and possibly a war, with the Zora.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments are appreciated and loved; it's how I keep up my motivation to write for you guys! :)


	12. Arc 1: Cliff's Precipice

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All right always a week update whooo  
> I'm keeping up with my own schedule xD

Just as Bazz had said, he returned by dawn. He reported that King Dorephan was all right their change in plans as Naydra had suggested it.

With that settled, the group packed up their belongings and returned to the horses so they could head towards Tabantha.

Ganondorf put the cloak back on to shield himself as they entered Kakariko Village, but it wasn’t needed as no one stared at them. He swore he saw a few suspicious glances in Zelda’s direction but the looks were so quick he wasn’t sure if he had imagined it or not.

Exiting through the southern entrance, the group headed down towards Dueling Peaks. As they neared the stable, Astrid popped up on Ganondorf’s shoulder.

“A temple! A temple!”

“Here?” Zelda asked, looking around as they halted the horses.

A patch of water sat near the stable and the Zora instantly made a beeline towards it. It was only ankle deep, but they made do.

Astrid nodded as the Zora left. She pointed at the mountain.

“Up there?” Ganondorf asked incredulously. “We are _not_ going mountain climbing.”

Astrid made a pathetic noise, pointing to the other half of the mountain. “I sense it there too.”

“There’s a temple in both?” Zelda asked, squinting at the mountain. “Or just one side?”

Astrid looked between the mountain halves before she sank down with a miserable sniff. “I can’t tell!”

 **That’s all right,** Link said with a smile at Astrid. **We’ll go up this one first.**

He gestured at the mountain half behind the stable.

Ganondorf put his hands on his hips. “And how do you propose we do that, huh? We have no climbing gear.”

Link rolled his eyes before pointing at the mountain again. **Flat enough to walk up.**

“You’re sure?” Zelda asked.

Link shot her a wounded look and she held up her hands.

“Okay, we’ll trust you.”

The three stared at the mountain in front of them while the Zora played in the water nearby.

There was a loud grumble and Zelda looked at Ganondorf with a smirk.

“Ganon.”

“What?” Ganondorf huffed, giving a shrug. “So I’m hungry. Sue me.”

“It’s about lunch time,” Zelda mumbled, crossing her arms. “I suppose we can stop for lunch then head up to the temple.”

Link frowned, looking towards the stable. He spotted some pumpkins, likely brought from Kakariko, and grinned. **Pumpkin soup!**

“Heh?” Ganondorf asked as Zelda beamed.

“Oh, like the Lumpy Pumpkin? That sounds amazing!”

“What the fuck is a Lumpy Pumpkin?” Ganondorf asked, not sure if it was an inside joke he wasn’t aware of.

“Oh, yeah. You were imprisoned as Demise, huh?” Zelda hummed while Link went to the pumpkins to get one. “It was a place in Skyloft and it made the most amazing pumpkin soup. Trust me, you’ll not want to eat anything else after tasting it.”

“O….kay?”

Ganondorf wasn’t sure if he should trust Zelda’s word on this ‘pumpkin soup’ thing but he supposed he had no choice.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The six sat around the pot while Link cooked, watching him work with a mixture of diced pumpkins, carrots, radish, fresh milk, melted butter and sprinkled rock salt.

“It smells amazing,” Sidon said. “I’ve never heard of making pumpkin soup before.”

"You know a lot of recipes,” Bazz said.

Link gave a shrug as he stirred the bubbling mixture.

“So, another temple is here?” Mipha asked, looking at Zelda and Ganondorf.

Zelda nodded. “Yeah. We’re heading up the mountain after lunch.”

You’re leaving?” Someone asked, a traveler coming over to them. “I’d be fast then. I heard there may be a blood moon tonight.”

“You’re sure?” Ganondorf asked, frowning at the traveler.

Had it been that long? The last one had been just as he, Zelda and Link had fled the castle.

The man nodded. “Dangerous time to travel, friends. It might be better to stay the night.”

He looked towards Ganondorf and smiled before waving as he left.

“Fare thee well on your travel, young ones.”

“What a nice traveler,” Sidon said. “Warning us of the blood moon.”

 _No,_ Ganondorf thought, eyes narrowed as he watched the man’s retreating back.

He wasn’t a nice man. The smile hadn’t reached his eyes.

 **What should we do?** Link asked, frowning at Zelda. **Stay?**

Zelda looked at Ganondorf. She knew if they travelled up the mountain, they would run the risk of night falling and Ganondorf being exposed under the blood moon’s light.

She sighed. “We should stay.”

“Are you nuts?” Ganondorf snapped, whipping his head to look at Zelda. “We don’t have 120 Rupees for the inn fare.”

“We’ll…then we’ll…” Zelda threw up her hands in frustration. “We’ll think of something! But you can’t be out during the blood moon. You know that.”

She didn’t want a repeat of what had happened in Zora’s Domain. She was tired of stabbing Ganondorf with Light Arrows to drive back the Malice.

Ganondorf grit his teeth but remained silent.

She was right. He knew that. But how could they afford to stay in the inn?

Cheerful humming caught his attention and Ganondorf looked beside him to see Beedle slowly making his way towards the stable. He stood up with a growl.

He had been waiting to cross paths with Beedle again.

The merchant was the one that had made the Sheikah send Skye after them in the first place, he was certain of it. He had told them of their whereabouts.

Beedle’s humming stopped when he caught sight of Ganondorf, one foot raised to step into the stable. He immediately turned on his heel and began to walk away as quickly as his pack would allow him, mumbling, “Oh, no, oh, no,” under his breath.

“Gan!” Zelda called when Ganondorf stormed after the harried merchant.

Ganondorf grabbed the backpack, lifting it off the ground and turning it so the merchant faced him.

Beedle squeaked and curled up like a turtle in its shell as he yelped, “Don’t kill me!”

“You almost got _me_ killed! Give me a good reason why I shouldn’t rip you apart.”

Zelda grabbed Ganondorf’s arm, glaring up at him. “Put him down. Now.”

With a deep growl, Ganondorf dropped Beedle.

Zelda gave a sigh as she helped Beedle to his feet. “I’m sorry about him. He doesn’t know how to control his temper.”

Ganondorf grunted, crossing his arms.

Beedle gaped at Zelda. “I-I’m sorry I didn’t recognize you the first time we met, Your Highness! I didn’t even think—”

“Shh, shh!” Zelda waved her hands, looking around quickly to make sure they hadn’t drawn attention to themselves. “We’re just….my name is Sheik, all right?”

Beedle appeared confused but nodded. “Of course, Sheik. I apologize.”

“You’re going to make it up to us for ratting us out,” Ganondorf growled at Beedle who shrunk back.

“O-of course, friends! I can give you—”

“No, you pay for the beds in the inn. We need six.”

Beedle paled but nodded. “Of course! Anything to make up for my transgressions—”

"And we get to look through your bag again.”

Beedle appeared like he was about to have a heart attack but he nodded meekly.

Zelda swatted Ganondorf’s arm as Beedle headed to the stable. “You don’t have to be so rude, you know.”

“He was the reason Skye was sent after us.”

“You don’t know that.”

“You don’t know that either,” Ganondorf countered, sneering at her. He looked away, rubbing the scar on his forehead. “Let’s just…go eat.”

Zelda sighed as she watched him leave.

She wondered if the blood moon was making him more irritable than normal.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

While the group ate, Beedle allowed them to rifle through his pack to see what new items he had acquired.

There really wasn’t anything interesting in the pack but Link found some arrows with a red bulb at the end.

“Those are bomb arrows,” Beedle said. “I got them in Akkala.”

 **Bomb?** Link signed, eyes lighting up. He held the shaft of the bomb arrow he had picked up in both hands, practically vibrating in his excitement.

Ganondorf snatched the arrow from Link before the blond could try and test it. He pointed it at Link. “No. Explosions.”

Link pouted, crossing his arms to sulk.

“We’ll take twenty. They may prove helpful.”

Link perked up.

“I’ll keep a hand on them, though.”

Link sulked.

After getting a bundle of twenty bomb arrows, Ganondorf slid them into the pocket of his coat to prevent Link from sneaking them when he wasn’t looking.

With that done, Beedle grabbed his pack and scrambled off.

Sidon laughed at the merchant. “You scare him, my friend. Perhaps you could be nicer?”

Ganondorf gave a grunt as he shoved some of the pumpkin soup into his mouth in lieu of answering the Zora.

“I think he likes the soup,” Mipha said, grinning.

Link puffed up. **Best soup.**

“It is quite excellent,” Bazz murmured. “I’ve never tasted such a delectable soup before.”

“This is better than the fish soup mother made,” Sidon said.

Mipha gave a quiet hum as she continued to eat, quietly agreeing.

Astrid had her own tiny bowl of soup, sitting on the ground nearby as she sipped it, giggling every so often as her legs wiggled.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

_The metallic smell of blood was strong, making him dizzy. A dripping sound was heard and even as he took a few steps forward, he could tell the floor was covered in a thin layer of water._

_The place was unfamiliar and it made the hairs on the back of his neck prickle._

_Other than the dripping noise, the place was silent._

_The scent of blood deepened as he came closer to its source and what he saw chilled his bones._

_Link was sprawled on the ground, the Master Sword driven through his skull. His blood stained the water, spreading out._

_He took a step back in horror._

_Who had….?_

_"G-Ganon…!”_

_Whirling around, he saw Zelda being held in a one-handed vice grip by a shadowed figure much larger than her._

_Sharpened nails dug into the tender flesh, causing blood to run down and drip into the water._

_“Zelda!”_

_At his cry, the figure turned their head, eyes glowing the color of Malice. A flash of lightning revealed the figure’s long red hair and long cloak. Twin blades hung at their side._

**_You will not escape me! We are one!_ **

**_\----------------------------------------------------------------------------_ **

****A loud boom caused Ganondorf’s eyes to snap open. He rapidly sat up, breathing heavily as he looked around.

Everyone was still asleep. They were in the stable.

Ganondorf looked outside to see the red hue coating the land, a signal that the blood moon had risen.

A thunderstorm had also come, sending down heavy rain and lightning that struck the ground close to the stable, briefly igniting the grass.

Ganondorf slowly breathed out as he forced his heart rate to calm down before he looked at his hands.

He could almost see the blood staining them. He needed to wash them. There was a pond nearby, right?

Throwing off the covers, Ganondorf got out of bed and headed for the stable’s entrance.

A hand grabbed his arm and Ganondorf instantly flinched, yanking his arm free from the grip as he took several steps away.

Zelda appeared wounded at the reaction then sympathetic. She lowered her hand. “Where are you going? The blood moon is out.”

Ganondorf looked outside again, remembering the blood moon was indeed out.

Had it been the Malice’s subconscious suggestion he go outside to wash his hands? To expose him to the moonlight?

He clenched his hands then sighed, looking back at Zelda. “Why are you up?”

Zelda held up her hand, showing the glowing Triforce. “It’s hard to sleep with this going crazy.”

Ganondorf looked at his hand to see that his Triforce was also glowing, a reaction to his nightmare.

Zelda took a step closer and set a hand on Ganondorf’s arm.

He tensed but remained still.

“Do you want to talk about it?”

Ganondorf thought back to the blood coating Zelda’s neck. He shook his head, not trusting his voice.

Zelda smiled slightly. “That’s okay. Do you want to go back to sleep?”

Ganondorf shook his head again.

“We can sit against the wall then,” Zelda suggested, gesturing to a wall furthest from the blood moon’s light. “Stay up as long as you want.”

“You should get some sleep too,” Ganondorf whispered.

Zelda shook her head. “I’m fine. Sit?”

Ganondorf sighed, gave a nod and followed Zelda to the wall where they both sat down beside each other.

“Nightmares are the worst,” Zelda said. “It’s nice to have company after them.”

“Why?”

“To know you’re not dreaming anymore.” Zelda gave a small laugh. “Though I’m surprised Link can still be asleep.”

Ganondorf let his gaze move to Link who was sprawled on the bed, the blanket nearly off his body. He was drooling in his sleep and Ganondorf wondered if he was dreaming of food.

“He definitely is something.”

Zelda hummed, leaning against Ganondorf.

Ganondorf glanced down at her to see that she was already falling asleep. He gave a quiet, guttural hum.

Zelda responded with a quiet laugh. “Always the same song, Demise. And you never told me…what it means….”

Ganondorf stared down at her when she fell back asleep, frowning slightly.

_It means ‘you are my sunlight. Don’t let the demons in the dark take you away’._

It was a song Demise had made specifically for Hylia.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“What are you two doing on the floor?”

Ganondorf gave a grumble as he lifted his head before stretching his arms above him with a grunt.

Standing in front of him was Mipha who appeared concerned.

Link and the other two Zora were gone, presumable making breakfast while Mipha woke Zelda and Ganondorf up.

Ganondorf looked beside him when he felt stirring and saw Zelda rubbing her eyes.

Why were they….? Oh, right.

“Good morning,” Zelda said, smiling at Mipha before looking at Ganondorf. “How do you feel?”

"Better.”

“Good. Where are Link and the others?”

“Making breakfast,” Mipha answered as Zelda stood up. “Are you really going up Dueling Peaks?”

"There’s a temple. We have to check it out.”

Ganondorf stretched again then stood up, rubbing the crick in his neck. Sleeping on the floor wasn’t good for his posture.

“I hope that you’ll be safe,” Mipha murmured. “Try not to climb anything too high without a harness.”

"We’ll try our best,” Zelda said. “Hopefully it won’t take too long.”

 _Hopefully,_ Ganondorf thought.

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Like Link had thought, the majority of the trip up the side of the eastern half of Dueling Peaks was pretty flat. It didn’t take a lot of effort to climb over the rocky hills or sloping sides. Halfway up, near a grassy knoll, the three decided to take a break.

“I can almost see the top,” Zelda said, pointing to the Dueling Peak’s top.

“Good,” Ganondorf sighed as he and Link plopped back to back beside a boulder. “Let’s take a break.”

 **I brought some snacks,** Link said, pulling his pack off and beginning to rummage through it.

The ground rumbled and they all stopped what they were doing.

“Earthquake?” Ganondorf asked.

“Don’t be preposterous. We don’t have earthquakes.”

Link saw the shadow looming over them first and signed frantically, **Talus!**

Ganondorf just barely managed to break away as the Talus’s rocky arm slammed against the ground where he and Link had been.

“That boulder was a Talus?!” Zelda asked in alarm.

Of course they hadn’t noticed. Talus camouflaged themselves as ordinary boulders to trick unsuspecting travelers.

“How do we kill it?!” Ganondorf snapped, taking out his swords.

Fighting a _rock_ was not high on his to-do list that day.

Link fired a few arrows at the Talus, but they bounced off the monster without damaging it.

The Talus launched a part of its arm at the blond in retaliation, Link managing to roll out of the way in time.

Zelda threw a few needles at the Talus to get its attention off Link and it hurled its other arm at her. She dodged to the side with a squeak.

With no arms, the Talus dropped on its side with a thud to gather more rocks to reform itself.

Ganondorf saw a black rock jutting from the Talus’s back and narrowed his eyes at the ore. Then he gasped.

That was it!

"Hey, Link!”

Link looked towards Ganondorf to see the redhead holding up the bundle of bomb arrows.

Ganondorf tossed the weapons at Link. “Explosion time!”

Link caught the arrows, vibrating excitedly as he shoved them into his quiver.

“I’ll draw its attention; shoot the ore on its back!"

The Talus turned towards Link but Ganondorf stepped into its line of sight, waving his arms.

“Over here, ugly!”

Ganondorf moved to the side so the Talus slowly turned around, exposing its ore to Link.

As the Talus raised its arm to attack, there was a tremendous explosion that struck its ore, causing it to collapse.

“Are you nuts?!” Zelda asked as she grabbed Ganondorf’s arm to pull him away while Link shot several more arrows at the Talus’s exposed ore.

“Someone has to distract it!” Ganondorf snapped, trying to pull his arm away so he could help Link.

“You could get killed!”

“I don’t see you helping!”

Both froze. Zelda, wounded, and Ganondorf shocked.

“Th-that’s not…I didn’t mean it—”

“You think I’m just dragging you down?” Zelda asked quietly, looking at the ground as she released Ganondorf’s arm.

“N-no, of course not! You’re helping plenty!”

“Then what, Ganondorf?!” Zelda glared at him, clenching her hands. “Obviously my presence frustrates you. I should just go back home then.”

“What? No! We need you.”

“Obviously you don’t,” Zelda hissed, crossing her arms as she scowled up at Ganondorf. “It seems you can clearly handle yourself alone.”

Link glanced between the two and the Talus, wondering when they would be done having their spat.

The Talus slowly stood up and set its sights on the arguing duo.

Link waved to try and get their attention, but they didn’t notice him as the Talus raised its arm. Link shot a bomb arrow several feet away from Zelda and Ganondorf.

The two looked at him in annoyance then Ganondorf noticed the shadow above them. He quickly tackled Zelda as the arm slammed into the ground behind them.

Ganondorf glanced back at the Talus as it turned to face them, Zelda laying beneath him. He looked down at her then stood up, hauling her to her feet.

“We’ll discuss this later,” he grumbled, holding his hand out towards the Talus.

Flames—turned blue and hot from his anger—covered the Talus, halting it just as it raised its other arm.

It gave enough time for Link to move behind the Talus to hit it with another bomb arrow. Once it was down, he pounded it with more bomb arrows.

The Talus turned black then exploded, leaving behind several gemstones.

Link approached the prizes, picking up a sapphire.

“Those could be useful,” Ganondorf grunted. “Rubies, topaz, and sapphires all have properties to help with warmth, electricity and cold.”

"ink nodded, beginning to put the stones into his bag.

“We should keep going,” Ganondorf said, moving past Zelda to get further up the slope. “Hope we don’t run into anymore monsters.”

Zelda watched him leave before she sighed, trailing after him.

Link brought up the rear, deciding not to comment on the awkward silence that had fallen over them.

No incidents happened as they made it to another flat portion of the mountain, just before the top.

Ganondorf glanced around, searching for an entrance to a temple.

 **You think that Talus was the guardian?** Link asked.

“Could be,” Zelda murmured. “It was close to here.”

“I don’t see anything unusual,” Ganondorf said. “Perhaps it’s on the other side?”

Link made a face. **More climbing?**

“If it is on the other side, we’ll do it tomorrow.”

Zelda blinked when a sharp dot of light hit her eyes, shielding her vison with a hand as she looked up to see the source of the reflection.

“Ganon!” she screamed just as Skye slammed into Ganondorf, sending the both of them to the ground.

Ganondorf growled at the dragon’s weight bearing down on him, holding up his arm as the beast’s mouth parted, teeth sinking into his skin.

“I figured that Sheikah got to you.”

Skye opened her wings and took off into the air, dragging Ganondorf along the ground.

Before she could get too far up into the sky, a bomb arrow struck her eye. Skye released Ganondorf with a shriek, dropping to the ground.

Ganondorf grunted as he was released, getting to his feet quickly.

Zelda ran over to him, eyes going to his bleeding arm. “Your arm!”

“I’m fine!” Ganondorf snapped, keeping his arm pressed against his side. “We need to kill her!”

Skye slowly clambered to her feet then looked towards Ganondorf, six red targeting beams appearing on his body.

 _Upgraded targeting,_ Ganondorf thought as he searched for a way to avoid the beams. Two had been obnoxious enough and now he had to deal with _six_?

An arrow struck Skye’s face and disrupted her targeting temporarily.

As Link aimed another arrow, Ganondorf moved closer, stabbing one of Skye’s eyes to disable the targeting.

Realizing the plan, Zelda took two knives and pierced two of Skye’s eyes.

The dragon roared, rearing up onto her hind legs, flapping her wings to knock the two back. She grabbed onto Ganondorf’s arm once again and flew up.

Link shot another arrow at Skye to try and force her to release Ganondorf, but Skye turned her head so the arrow glanced off the armor.

Ganondorf grunted as he swung his body forward until he could wrap his legs around Skye’s neck. With more leverage, he used his free arm to pull out a sword, stabbing one of Skye’s functioning eyes.

Skye released her grip on his arm with a shriek and Ganondorf pulled himself up so he was on her back.

“This time, I won’t force you to my side, you hunk of junk.”

He stabbed his sword into the joint of one of Skye’s wings and began prying it out of the socket.

Skye roared and tried a barrel roll in an attempt to dislodge Ganondorf but he held on tightly as he managed to take out the wing.

With only one wing supporting her weight, Skye fell towards the ground.

They both struck the mountain’s peak.

Ganondorf scrabbled and managed to grab ahold of a ledge to prevent himself from plummeting off the mountain.

Skye fell past him, claws reaching out to try and catch him to drag Ganondorf down with her, but missed.

Ganondorf watched as Skye fell then struck the ground far below. He imagined not even a Sheikah-made beast could survive that far of a fall.

“Ganondorf!” Zelda gasped, both her and Link peering over to see where Ganondorf was.

Ganondorf grinned up at them. “Oh, hey. Come to give me a hand?”

Link grabbed his wrist and Zelda grabbed his other arm, being careful of the wound on his forearm.

They both hauled Ganondorf onto solid ground and the three sat to catch their breaths.

“Are you…all right?” Zelda asked, looking at Ganondorf.

Ganondorf gave a nod. “She was just a bunch of wires and codes.”

Zelda was about to say that wasn’t what she meant, but Link’s waving caught her attention.

Link pointed at where they had come from and she saw an opening in the ground that hadn’t been there before.

“Looks like we found the temple,” Ganondorf said as he slowly stood up, the adrenaline gone from his system and making him feel tired.

They couldn’t rest though. They had a job to do.

“Let’s go.”

Zelda blinked then looked at Ganondorf in surprise. She scrambled to her feet, stepping into his path. “Go? Into the temple? We need to get your arm healed!”

“My arm is fine.”

 **You got bit!** Link protested. **We’ll go to Mipha.**

“We’ll waste time doing that,” Ganondorf grumbled. “Besides, the spring inside could heal my wound too.”

Link and Zelda glanced at each other, not sure if they trusted Ganondorf’s logic, before Zelda pulled down the Sheikah mask covering her face.

She tore it off and moved closer to Ganondorf, beginning to wrap his arm in the cloth.

Ganondorf could hear her muttering about ‘stubborn males’ and ‘nothing ever changes’ under her breath.

“Hey.”

Zelda looked up at him, appearing on the verge of pouting but trying to look strong.

“If my arm becomes too much to bear, I’ll tell you and we can leave the temple and get it healed by Mipha. Deal?”

Zelda narrowed her eyes then held out her hand, pinkie extended.

“You have to _pinkie promise_ you’ll tell me or I’ll kick your ass.”

“Ooh, princess _can_ curse. All right,” Ganondorf wrapped his pinkie around hers, shaking her hand. “I pinkie promise if my arm hurts, I’ll tell you and we can leave.”

Link appeared amused by the exchange while Zelda appeared satisfied.

She sighed, dropping her hand. “I suppose we can go in and see what we’re up against this time.”

Link and Ganondorf nodded and the three headed to the opening that had appeared in the mountain’s side.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In which I like hurting Ganon  
> I swear the others will get hurt too ahah.  
> And next chapter will be fun lolo more temple stuff  
> And yes I dicked up the pumpkin soup recipe cause I am just like that.


	13. Arc 1: Star's Alignment

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ladies and Gentlmen, we have broken 50k now.  
> And this is the longest chapter by far at 5k :)  
> Anyway, I hope you enjoy. I hate making temples.

The moment they came into the first floor of the temple, Ganondorf spotted strange markings etched into the floor, glowing with an eerie light.

There were three markings, lines in different shapes with circles connecting them. Several circles were not as bright as the others like they were missing.

He was about to ask what they were when Zelda gasped, “Constellations!”

 **Constellations?** Link asked, squinting at the lines.

He was good at cloud watching. Not obscure pictures connected with dots.

Zelda nodded, pointing at one of the jagged lines. “That’s Zmaj, the Zonai god of courage.”

“A dragon, I surmise,” Ganondorf mumbled, remembering what Zelda had mentioned about Zonai believing that dragons, boars and owls represented the Triforce.

Zelda gave another nod, gesturing to one that looked like a bow. “That’s Sova, the owl goddess of wisdom.”

 **The last one must be a boar then,** Link said. **Right?**

“Yeah, Vepar.”

“Zmaj, Vepar, and Sova.” Ganondorf crossed his arms, gazing around. “Okay, so what do we do?”

He saw three rooms off the temple’s entrance; one straight ahead and one on either wall to the left and right.

Link noticed a sign and went over to it, waving at the other two to get their attention.

“A sign,” Zelda said. “What’s it say?”

**Find the missing stars and set them in their positions to complete the incomplete.**

“Oh, so we got to find some stars, huh?” Ganondorf grunted, staring at the constellations before looking at Zelda. “You know what stars are missing?”

Zelda hummed, heading over to the constellations and staring at them, gripping her chin. “Well…it looks like Zmaj is missing his head and tail; the stars I believe are called Clawrn and Draken.”

“Let’s find those first.”

“We won’t know which ones we’ll find though,” Zelda protested as Ganondorf went to the door straight in front of them.

“Then we’ll keep ahold of the other stars until we find them!”

Link paused when he saw another sign near a corner and went over to it. He clapped his hands to get Ganondorf and Zelda to look at him, pointing at the sign.

“Another sign?” Zelda asked, heading over to Link.

“What’s this one say?” Ganondorf mumbled, scowling at the sign.

“Press this button to get to the other side. Prepare yourself for a quick…ride?”

“What the heck does that mean?”

Link stared at the button near the sign before he reached a hand towards it.

Ganondorf quickly grabbed his wrist to stop him, hissing, “Don’t press it! It could be a trap!”

“How do you know it’s _not_ a trap?” Zelda countered with a smirk.

Ganondorf scowled at her, not in the mood to deal with her snark, before he released Link’s wrist. “All right. Go for it."

Link grinned and slapped the button.

The three waited, looking around to see what the button did.

The only noise heard was a thunk beneath them and that was it.

Link appeared disappointed at the lack of anything happening.

“Bummer,” Ganondorf mumbled sarcastically. “Now, shall we actually do the temp—ahh!”

Ganondorf yelped when the ground gave out from underneath him and he dropped down into a slick metal ramp that plunged downwards.

Link and Zelda fell down into the ramp behind him with yelps.

Ganondorf tried grabbing onto anything in an attempt to slow their descent, but everything around them was polished and had no handholds.

The slide suddenly arched upward sharply and the three were sent flying across the gap between the Dueling Peaks. A ramp opened up on the other peak, the three landing on it and sliding out onto a floor.

Ganondorf groaned while Zelda struggled to catch her breath, looking white as a sheet.

Link grinned wildly, signing, **Let’s do it again!**

“No!” Zelda and Ganondorf screamed at the same time, grabbing Link before he could press a button nearby.

Link appeared put off.

Ganondorf sighed, rubbing his arm as he glanced around. “Looks like we went in a circle.”

“But we passed over the river that runs between the Dueling Peaks!” Zelda protested. “We were airborne!”

“Then explain that!” Ganondorf snapped, pointing at the constellations etched onto the floor.

Getting up on shaky legs, Zelda moved closer to the drawings to examine them. She nodded. “While they do look similar, it appears that different stars are missing."

 **What do you mean?** Link asked.

“I said that Zmaj’s constellation was missing Clawrn and Draken, right?”

Ganondorf and Link nodded.

“This constellation of Zmaj is missing the stars of Scalis and Fang.”

“Wait,” Ganondorf grunted. “This temple is split into _two_?!”

“Like the mountain.”

“I already hate this temple.”

**How many stars do we have to find?**

“Well, each constellation is missing two stars,” Zelda mumbled, crossing her arms as she rubbed her chin. “And there are three constellations on each side. So, twelve.”

Ganondorf gave a groan. “That’s so much work…”

“We better get started then,” Zelda said, gesturing to the six doors surrounding them. “Pick a door, any door.”

Link pointed to a door diagonal from them, heading to it.

Once the door was opened, the three were faced with three eyeballs on the wall staring at them.

“Ah, eyeballs,” Ganondorf grunted. “Of course.”

“What do we do with them?” Zelda asked.

Link stared at the eyeballs seriously before withdrawing his sword and beginning to wave it in a circle.

The eyeballs followed the movement.

“Oh, a dizzy game, huh?” Ganondorf said. “That’s easy.”

Link continued his circular waving for a few minutes but nothing happened. He lowered his sword with a huff, arm tired.

“Maybe we each have to distract them?” Zelda suggested.

Ganondorf shrugged. “Worth a shot.”

He and Zelda withdrew their swords and moved until the eyes watched them separately, the third eye remaining trained on Link.

Together the three waved their swords in a circle until the eyes froze then spun rapidly before closing and dropping to the ground. Seconds later, a platform came up with a chest on it.

Zelda opened it and pulled out a small ball.

 **What’s that?** Link asked.

“Could be a star,” Ganondorf suggested.

Zelda noticed faint writing along the side of the ball and noticed it was the Sheikah alphabet. While she wasn’t well-versed in their written language, she recognized an H, R and N.

“I think it says Horzen,” she said. “A star from Vepar’s constellation.”

Ganondorf sighed. “Let’s see if that’s missing on this side or the other side.”

They headed back to the room with the constellations on the floor and Zelda stared at the Vepar constellation before setting the ball into a slot at the top of the constellation.

The ball lit up.

“That was easy,” Zelda sighed with a groan.

 **What room now?** Link asked, gesturing to the five remaining rooms.

“That one,” Ganondorf said, pointing to the south room on the left.

Opening the door, the three headed into the room beyond, but Ganondorf held out his arms to stop Link and Zelda from going further.

At the opposite end was a chest, tantalizing Link.

“Look at the sign,” Ganondorf said, looking at a nearby sign.

Zelda went over to read it. “Be wary of the floor. As flat as it may be, it tilts if too heavy.”

 **Too heavy?** Link asked, tilting his head.

Ganondorf spotted some weights nearby and picked one up, staring at the number on its side. He tossed it onto the floor in front of them.

The floor tilted to the side, the weight falling into a pit.

“Too heavy or too light and it tilts,” he mumbled, crossing his arms.

“So, we have to see what the right amount is?” Zelda said, staring at the weights and picking one up to stare at the weight numbered on the side.

“How much do you weigh, Link?” Ganondorf looked at Link.

Link frowned then shrugged.

Ganondorf picked Link up under his arms then dropped him, gathering a few weights. He tossed them onto the floor.

The floor remained still.

Ganondorf grinned. “Looks like your weight is the right amount.”

Link scowled at him before heading to the chest and opening it, pulling out another ball.

“Let me see the letters,” Zelda said as Link returned, holding out her hands.

Link handed the ball to her and she stared at the inscriptions on the side.

“Looks like it says Felter, a star from Sova.”

“Let’s see if it’s on this side then,” Ganondorf said, rubbing his arm.

He really shouldn’t have been using it like it wasn’t injured, but he couldn’t go around using one hand. His arm was hurting, but not enough to deter him. He had been through worse pain.

Zelda stared at the Sova constellation before humming and shaking her head. “No. This one goes to the other side.”

Link perked up.

“No,” Ganondorf snapped. “We’ll keep the ball here and finish _these_ constellations before we use that death slide.”

Link sulked, crossing his arms.

Zelda set the ball down by the wall then headed to the door on the left wall. “This one next.”

They headed into the room beyond and saw another blank room with a chest at the far end.

The door slammed shut behind them and a clunking noise sounded above them.

They looked up to see spikes lining the ceiling which were slowly sliding down.

“A spiked ceiling,” Ganondorf muttered.

Link went to the chest and opened it, pulling out the ball that was inside.

Zelda looked up to see that the ceiling was still coming down and the door behind them was still locked. “Uh, it isn’t stopping!”

“Then there’s a switch somewhere!” Ganondorf snapped, beginning to feel the wall for anything unusual.

Zelda did the same thing with Link dropping the ball to follow suit.

After a bit of searching, Zelda eventually found a switch and pressed it. The ceiling slid to a halt and the door opened. All three sighed.

“Close to becoming shish kebabs,” Ganondorf mumbled, reaching up to poke one of the spikes.

“Let’s leave quickly,” Zelda said. “I don’t want to find out if it’s timed.”

Link nodded, grabbing the ball and the three returned to the main room.

“What star is this one?” Ganondorf asked as Zelda looked the ball over.

“Looks like it’s Ruten, the star from Sova.” Zelda set the ball in the center of the owl constellation.

Link headed to the second southern door and opened it.

The room beyond was open with a single, large rock ball sitting in the center. The door shut behind them.

“This isn’t another Talus is it?” Ganondorf mumbled, staring at the ball skeptically.

“Too smooth,” Zelda said, moving closer to the ball to touch it. “What do we do with this?”

“It’s too huge to push it.”

The floor suddenly tilted and Zelda jumped to the side to avoid the ball as it rolled past her.

“What the hell?” Ganondorf mumbled as the floor tilted another way.

Zelda stumbled as she tried to regain her balance as Link avoided the ball when it came towards him.

“What do we do?” Zelda asked when the floor continued to tilt, moving the ball with every angle.

“We need to stop the floor. Find a switch!”

The three went to different directions, avoiding the ball that was threatening to flatten them.

Patting the wall for sign of a switch while avoiding a death ball proved difficult, each of them almost getting struck several times.

Finally, Ganondorf’s hand pushed in a tile and the floor shuddered to a halt before returning to a flat position.

There was a collective sigh as the chest appeared along a wall.

“That was terrifying,” Zelda breathed as Ganondorf opened the chest to get the ball out.

“Two more rooms on this side,” he said, handing the ball to Zelda. “What’s it say?”

Zelda looked the ball over. “Clawrn.”

“From Zmaj. That’s on the other side.”

The three returned to the main room, setting the ball with the other one.

Link pointed to the door ahead of them.

“Let’s hope this one isn’t a death machine,” Zelda muttered, heading over to the door to open it.

“Seconded,” Ganondorf said while Link nodded.

Once again the door closed behind them and locked. Two bulbs were on either side of the door and two metal balls sat in the room, sparking with internal energy.

 **Easy,** Link signed, going over to the metal balls and picking one up. He moved to the door, dropping it by the bulb.

The bulb lit up to a blue.

“Ah, electricity to open the door,” Zelda said. “How clever!”

Ganondorf picked up the second ball and set it by the door to activate it.

The door unlocked and slid open, the chest appearing seconds later.

Zelda opened it and pulled out the ball, looking over the letters on the side. “Looks like it’s from Zmaj. Fang.”

“Hm. The last room may have the star for the other side.”

 **What makes you think that?** Link asked as they returned to the constellation room.

“Didn’t you notice? There were three stars for this side and so far, two for the other side. Logic dictates the last rom will have the star for the other side.”

“Makes sense,” Zelda agreed, setting the star into Zmaj’s constellation. “The other side may have the same logic. Three for that side and three for this side.”

Together they opened the last door in the room and came across six small rocks scattered around the room.

“What is it?” Ganondorf asked, staring at the rocks. “What do we do with these?”

Link went close to one and jumped back when it suddenly began to move.

“Oh, they’re Pebblits!” Zelda gasped.

“What?”

“Basically, baby Talus.”

“Oh. How do we kill them?”

Link backed away from the Pebblit but awakened several of the others.

The Pebblits followed after him and out of panic, Link pulled out one of his last two bomb arrows he had, firing it at the mobile rocks.

The noise startled Ganondorf and Zelda who ducked at the explosion.

“Link!” Ganondorf snapped, glaring at the blond. “Careful!”

“We could just explode them,” Zelda said, noticing that the bomb arrow had effectively destroyed the Pebblits.

The chest appeared and Link smiled proudly.

“Just be careful where you aim those things,” Ganondorf mumbled as Zelda opened the chest.

“Looks like Dinrel,” Zelda said. “Definitely to the other side.”

 **Then we’re done?** Link asked.

“For this side,” Ganondorf said. “For now. Let’s get to the other side.”

Link grinned excitedly, running off.

“I hate this temple,” Ganondorf mumbled.

“Seconded.”

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

After returning to the eastern half of Dueling Peaks via the death slide, the three set the three stars they brought with them in their respective constellations.

“Which room?” Zelda asked, looking at the doors.

Link pointed to the door on their right.

“That one then,” Ganondorf said, going to open the door.

All that greeted them after entering the room was a stack of wooden boxes.

“Boxes?” Zelda asked, sounding offended at how simple the challenge was. “Really?”

“This side must be the easier one,” Ganondorf mumbled, holding out his hand to send a blast of flames at the boxes.

It took them seconds to burn into ashes. A spiked ball of metal dropped down the slight incline behind the boxes and began to roll toward the three.

They moved to the side to avoid it.

 **This is only the first puzzle,** Link said as they stared at the spiked ball.

“If this side is easier than the other side, that would be a miracle,” Ganondorf said, heading up the hill to see the chest waiting at the top.

Zelda opened it and pulled out the ball, staring at the words on the side. “Hm. I think this is Draken.”

 **So that completes Zmaj?** Link asked.

“Yes.”

“One down, two to go on this side,” Ganondorf slid down the ramp with the others, returning to the main room to slot the final star to Zmaj’s constellation.

As Zelda headed towards to the room on their left, Ganondorf sat down.

“Can we take a break?”

Zelda looked back at him and gasped as she remembered his arm. “Oh no, I forgot about your injury! I was so focused on the temple—”

“It’s all right. my arm doesn’t hurt too bad.”

Link sat beside Ganondorf, pulling out his snack pack and rifling through it. He took out a few apples. **Snack?**

“Oh, right.” Ganondorf took one of the offered apples. “We never got to eat because of the Talus.”

Zelda sat on Ganondorf’s other side, looking at the cloth around his arm.

The white was stained red, but it didn’t appear to be actively bleeding.

She took one of the apples and bit into it to focus on something else.

After their snack break, the three stood and headed into the room that was next to the one they had gone into.

The door slammed shut behind them, plunging them into inky blackness.

Ganondorf felt someone holding onto his cloak and he held up his hand, summoning a fireball to his palm to help light up the area a bit.

“What do we do with this one?” Zelda asked, looking around. She could barely see anything.

“We need to find a torch first, I imagine,” Ganondorf muttered, pulling Zelda off his cloak and having her cling to Link instead before searching for a torch.

Once he saw on nestled in the corner nearby, he made his way over to it and lit it up.

It gave off enough light that he could see another torch in the corner across from him.

Ganondorf lit that torch as well and immediately both torches extinguished themselves, sending the room back into darkness.

Zelda gave a small squeak in response.

Ganondorf sighed.

A puzzle. Light the torches in the correct order.

Moving to the bottom right corner of the room, Ganondorf lit the torch once again then moved to the corner diagonal from him to light it.

Both torches stayed lit.

With a satisfied grunt, Ganondorf moved down to the bottom left corner and lit the torch he came across.

The room remained lit and Ganondorf moved to the light the last one.

Zelda sighed once the room was in light, releasing her death grip on Link’s arm.

Link scowled at her, rubbing his aching arm as the chest appeared in the center.

After pulling out the ball and handing it to Zelda, Ganondorf left the room with the other two following.

“Looks like Naitchen. That should complete Vepar on the other side.”

 **Ball pile?** Link asked as Zelda set the ball down.

She nodded.

“This temple must have two floors,” Ganondorf said as they all headed to the last door. “There aren’t enough rooms.”

“It’s possible,” Zelda muttered. “We need four more balls.”

They came into a room with a short hallway that soon opened up to a larger incline that had a substantial patch of lava at the end.

“Is that….lava?” Zelda asked. “In Dueling Peaks?”

“It’s a temple, Zelda.”

**Temples don’t make sense.**

Zelda stared at the lava in awe before staring at the incline before them. “We just go up it?”

“I imagine we may have obstacles,” Ganondorf muttered.

The three began to go up the incline and as Ganondorf had suggested, obstacles in the form of multiple rock balls that began to roll towards them.

Link grabbed their arms, pulling them into accurately placed alcoves.

Once the balls had gone past, the three left their hiding spot and continued up the incline until they had reached the top.

Zelda sighed as she sat down, catching her breath. “So much….work…"

“Almost done.”

Link opened the chest to pull out the ball. He handed it at Zelda who squinted at the inscriptions.

“Looks like Wister, the last star for Sova.”

“Two constellations down then.”

Link grinned, holding the ball under his arm so he could sign **Almost done!**

The three slid down the hill and returned to the constellation room to set the last star in Sova’s constellation.

Stairs opened up in a corner close to the room they had just left, leading downstairs.

“Our last rooms are downstairs then,” Zelda said.

Making their way downstairs, they came into a room with six Pebblits.

Ganondorf looked at Link, gesturing at the rocks.

Link grinned, pulling out his last bomb arrow and aiming carefully so he could destroy all of the Pebblits in one hit.

The chest appeared and it was Scalis, the final star for Zmaj on the western side of Dueling Peaks.

There were only two rooms on the lower floor, one to the left and one to the right. they headed to the door on the left first, coming into an empty room.

 **Well, this is disappointing,** Link signed.

“What the heck do we do here?” Zelda asked, looking around the empty room.

Suddenly the floor dropped into a ramp, revealing sharp spikes at the bottom.

The three slid towards the spikes, nothing near them offering a handhold.

“What do we do?!” Zelda yelled as she tried to find a way to halt their descent.

Ganondorf saw a flat portion of floor next to the spikes and grabbed Zelda’s hand then Link’s hand. “We jump.”

“What?!”

**Are you sure?**

“Unless you want to be skewered, jump now!”

Following Ganondorf’s lead, they put their feet flat against the floor and just as they reached the spikes, pushed off to vault themselves over the spikes. They landed on the floor in a heap.

The spikes lowered and a portion of floor replaced them.

“That was…good thinking,” Zelda sighed.

Ganondorf gave a grunt. “A guess.”

“What?! You risked our lives over a guess?!”

“I didn’t see you thinking of a way out of that!”

 _This again,_ Link thought, getting up to head over to the chest that appeared. Pulling out the ball, he shoved it at Zelda to stop the impending argument.

Zelda scowled at Ganondorf before looking the ball over. “Tuskrie, the last star to Vepar.”

"This half, huh? Then that means the last one goes to the other side.”

 **Sova?** Zelda nodded. “Yes. It should be Nuydrin.”

The three set the ball into Vepar’s constellation then returned to the basement floor to enter the last room.

The only thing there was a large scale.

“A balancing puzzle maybe?” Ganondorf suggested, crossing his arms.

Link shrugged, stepping onto the lower scale.

Ganondorf moved to the higher scale and grabbed it, pulling it down slightly. “Let’s see if it’s enough with the two of us.”

Once he had rolled onto the scale, Link’s side lifted up.

Link shook his head. **Too heavy.**

“Let me get on Link’s side,” Zelda said, lifting her arms.

Link leaned over his side and grabbed her, pulling her onto his scale.

Their scale slowly lowered until it was even with Ganondorf. The chest appeared nearby.

“You two get down first,” Ganondorf said. “I can get down without help.”

Zelda got off the scale first then Link. Ganondorf dropped to the floor after them.

After making sure that the last ball was indeed for the western half of Dueling Peaks, the three grabbed the balls and used the death slide to cross to the other side. Once they had set the final star into place, a set of stairs appeared, leading upwards.

Ganondorf rubbed his arm as they climbed the stairs to the boss room.

They just had to defeat it then he could soak his wound in the healing spring waters.

As the door closed behind them, Ganondorf glanced around.

All that was in the room was a mound of black scales. The mound shifted and a large centipede-like beast raised itself up with a snarl, large orange eye staring down at them. A red orb sat at the end of the monster’s tail, glowing with an eerie light.

Link withdrew his bow and aimed an arrow at the monster’s obvious weak pint. Before he could fire, the monster shrieked and scuttled off quickly, fast as a lizard.

“Shit, it’s fast!” Ganondorf growled, trying to keep his eyes on the monster.

Crawling up the side of the wall, the monster snarled at the three before leaping towards them.

“Watch out!” Zelda warned.

They all jumped to different sides to avoid the monster’s landing.

Link shot at its eye while Ganondorf moved to its back, slicing at its tail.

The monster shrieked before spinning around, orb catching Link in the chest and sending him crashing into a nearby wall.

“Link!” Zelda gasped when the blond crumpled to the ground.

“Focus on the monster!” Ganondorf snapped, sending a fireball at the beast to take its attention off Zelda and Link.

Zelda bit her lip before she tossed several knives at the monster’s eye, causing it to shriek.

Ganondorf looped around and stabbed the tail once more.

Snarling, the monster turned towards Ganondorf.

Zelda rushed to the tail and stabbed it several times with her sword.

When the monster turned towards Zelda and reared up with a screech, an arrow lodged itself in its eye. The monster screamed and flailed.

While distracted, Ganondorf and Zelda both launched themselves at the boss’s tail and dealt the finishing blow.

The monster shrieked then collapsed before disappearing in a cloud of dark smoke.

A door leading to the spring opened up.

Zelda ran over to Link who was slowly getting to his feet. “Are you all right?!”

Link grinned and nodded, giving a thumbs up.

“No broken bones?” Ganondorf asked, eyeing Link warily.

Link patted himself before shaking his head. **Just sore. No broke.**

“Well,” Zelda sighed, relieved Link didn’t appear to be seriously hurt. “The spring should take care of all your aches.”

Link nodded.

They headed to the spring and went into the water.

As Ganondorf closed his eyes, he could feel the water’s healing power begin to mend his arm.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------

_“500 Rupees!”_

_Ravio scoffed. “That’s practically theft!”_

_“700?”_

_"Not in this lifetime. 1,200 Rupees!”_

_What?! I can’t afford that.”_

_"Then go find Rupees.”_

_"You’re the one staying in my house for free!”_

_“Because I’m being allowed to sell my wares here.”_

_He growled quietly at Ravio, crossing his arms. He glanced at the fire rod. He didn’t need to rent it. He wanted to buy it, but Ravio’s prices were outrageous._

_“1,000 Rupees. I can pay here and now.”_

_Ravio hummed, head tilting side to side as he thought about it, Sheerow mimicking his movement. After a bit, Ravio nodded. “Oh, I suppose. But just this once, my friend!”_

_He sighed, grabbing the fire rod and handing Ravio the Rupees. “We’ll see.”_

_\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_

_He had given up pulling on the chains a while ago. That…annoying bastard….what was his name? Yuga? He had just rudely taken over his body. He was tired of things taking him over. He was tired and wanted to rest._

_He looked up when he heard footsteps and narrowed his eyes when he saw someone coming towards him._

_“Zelda?”_

_No. That wasn’t Zelda. This girl looked like her but had dark hair and red eyes._

_The Zelda lookalike appeared confused by his statement. “Zelda? No, my name is Hilda, princess of Lorule.”_

_“Lorule? Ah, that pompous peacock Yuga mentioned that word to me.”_

_"Are you….Ganon?” Hilda asked, sitting near him._

_“I am, but I’m not. How are you even here in my mind?”_

_Hilda sighed. “Yuga tricked me. He took the Triforce of Wisdom from me. I was hoping to use Hyrule’s Triforce to restore Lorule, but that isn’t what Yuga wants.”_

_"He has both pieces? Where is the Hero?”_

_“Fighting, right now, to keep his piece.”_

_He grunted. “He’ll win the battle. If it’s that kid with the pink stripe, he’ll win.”_

_Hilda blinked. “You know him?”_

_"I’ve met him a few times. He’ll win. And then….I can finally rest.”_

_\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------_

_“Impa, I wish to tell you about a dream I’ve had.”_

_"Yes, princess?”_

_"Some dark force will come and set off a string of events. A boy will come to the castle gates.”_

_"A boy?” Impa asked, tilting her head. “You’re sure?”_

_She nodded. “Yes. He’ll bring strange news of paintings that have appeared. I want you to let him into the castle. I wish to give him something that will aid him in his journey.”_

_“And that is?”_

_She pulled out a green pendant. “The Pendant of Courage. He will require it if he’s to defeat this new evil.”_

_"I see,” Impa murmured. “I will do as you request, princess.”_

_“Thank you, Impa.”  
_

_\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_

Ganondorf flexed his arm as he opened his eyes, lifting it up and pulling off the cloth. The skin was completely healed with no trace of scars.

Zelda touched his arm and he looked at her.

“I’m glad it’s healed.”

Ganondorf gave a smile. “Told you the spring would heal it.”

She rolled her eyes, smacking his arm. “Quit being smug.”

Link watched the two then rolled his eyes, pointing to some stairs that had appeared.

Together the three went up to the stairs and came out near the top of Dueling Peaks.

“Wow,” Zelda breathed, staring out at the vast expanse of Hyrule laid out before them.

Ganondorf stared at the castle in the distance, wondering how his mother was faring.

Link gazed around at the sight as well before he waved a hand then pointed at something that caught his attention.

Ganondorf and Zelda looked at where he was pointing to see an ethereal shaft of light shooting up from a distant mountain.

“What is that?” Zelda asked, squinting to try and see better.

“Never saw it before,” Ganondorf said. “Looks close to Tabantha.”

 **Can we see it?** Link asked, pointing at the light again. **Could hold treasure.**

“It is on our way to Tabantha,” Zelda murmured, looking at Ganondorf.

Ganondorf sighed. “I suppose it couldn’t hurt since it’s where we’re going.”

Link grinned.

“Let’s get back to the stable.”

**I’ll make dinner!**

"Oh, wonderful! I’m starving.”

"Dinner does sound good about now,” Zelda said. “Do you think you could make a meat and rice bowl?”

**If they have good meat.**

“Anything is fine by me,” Ganondorf said as they headed down Dueling Peaks.

“You eat anything!” Zelda laughed.

“At least I don’t eat Chuchu jelly.”

**Hey, don’t knock it until you try it!**

The three continued to talk and laugh as they returned to the stable.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for any errors or anything xD And yeah, I know the memories are all different lengths lol sorry   
> So I guess you've noticed by now I update every Friday so I guess I should say this will be updated every Friday or Saturday. So see ya next Friday!


	14. Arc 1: Lord of the Mountain

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter! Slightly shorter than the previous few and not really something I'm thrilled with, but here it is :3

* * *

“I’ve heard of Satori Mountain,” Zelda said as the group saddled their horses for the trip.

They had spent the night at the stable again and just as the sun rose, they were awake and preparing to travel towards the mountain where Link had seen the shaft of light.

“Is it a mystical place?” Mipha asked as she and the other Zora finished off their breakfast of honeyed apples.

Zelda nodded, patting Bluebell’s neck after sliding the bit into the horse’s mouth. “It’s said to be the birthplace of rabbit-like creatures known as Blupees. If you hit them with an arrow, they supposedly drop Rupees. They gather on that mountain every so often and are guarded by a deity spirit called the Lord of the Mountain.”

“Lord of the Mountain?” Bazz murmured, crossing his arms as his headtail flicked. “That name sounds familiar.”

“Didn’t your father once see the Lord as a child?” Mipha asked, setting a hand on Bazz’s arm to get his attention.

“You’re right! The blue horse, he called it. It has two faces and startles easily.”

 **Two faces?** Link asked, tilting his head.

“So it can see potential threats, I imagine,” Ganondorf grunted as he held an apple out for Helltrotter to eat. “We’ll have to see if the Lord is still there.”

“How long do you think it will take to get there?” Zelda asked, pulling herself into Bluebell’s saddle.

“Well, the Outskirt Stable is half a day’s ride, so we should arrive there by seven tonight. Then….perhaps another four hours to the mountain.”

 **Midnight,** Link said. **Should we travel so long?**

“It depends. If we see the light, we’ll go to the mountain.” Ganondorf got up onto Helltrotter’s saddle. “If not, we’ll spend the night at the stable and continue to Tabantha in the morning.”

Link appeared disappointed at the idea of not being able to see the Lord of the Mountain.

“Don’t be disappointed, Link!” Sidon said, giving a grin. “Surely, the Lord will be there an extra night.”

Link smiled at the optimism and nodded.

Zelda looked at the two before glancing at Ganondorf who was already a few feet ahead of them, taking the lead. She spurred Bluebell into a trot to catch up to the redhead. “Gan?”

Ganondorf looked at her out of the corner of his eye.

“I’m sorry. About the argument. During the Talus fight?”

“I started it. That was _completely_ out of line for me to insinuate that you were useless. You are not useless, Zelda. Without you, I don’t think I would have made it this far.”

“It’s a bit difficult for all of us. This isn’t how things usually go. It will take some time to get used to.”

Ganondorf gave a nod. “Well, we’ll learn along the way. And if we have any issues, we’ll bring it up _before_ an argument starts during a battle.”

Zelda gave a laugh. “Deal.”

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 

Past the Outpost, Zelda noticed a towering structure that she hadn't before. Hadn't they gone past Hylia Bridge a few times?

She gazed up at the enormous rock wall that rounded out, revealing that it was circular.

Zelda looked at Ganondorf and Link. "Do you guys know what this place is?"

They stopped their horses to stare at the strange section of land.

"Never heard talk of a raised plateau like this..." Mipha murmured.

Ganondorf pulled out his map and glanced it over, looking back at where they had come then where they were going. He shook his head. "It doesn't have a name. It's an empty circular spot on the map."

"Perhaps it's never been visited?" Sidon asked. "Those walls look difficult to climb."

"That's... plausible," Zelda murmured, still staring at the rock walls looming over them.

"If it's not on the map, it's not important," Ganondorf said, folding the map and stuffing it back in his bag. He kicked Helltrotter back into gear.

Zelda continued to gaze at the mysterious plateua as the others continued to walk. After a few minutes, she followed.

Something about that plateau made her intrigued. Perhaps one day they could see what was up there. It had to hold something of uptmost importance to be raised so high off the ground.

\-----------------------------------------------------------------

Just before seven, the group arrived at the Outskirt Stable. They decided to take a small break so they could eat and allow the horses to rest.

While Link went to see what sort of food the stable offered for dinner, Zelda went in search of some treats for the horses.

She approached one of the ranch hands who was spreading out some hay for the rental horses.

“Excuse me, do you have any apples for our horses?”

The woman looked at Zelda and smiled. “Of course! They’re over there!”

She pointed to a bucket of apples and Zelda bowed.

“Thank you, miss.”

As Zelda grabbed a handful of apples, the ranch hand said, “Do you want to beautify your horse’s mane?”

“Beautify?” Zelda asked, looking at the woman.

She nodded. “Of course! I can trim the mane into any style that you like and even add flowers!”

"Oh! Wow, that sounds amazing.”

“But!” the woman held up a finger. “I only do horses that love their owner extremely well.”

Zelda frowned. She wasn’t even sure if Bluebell liked her. Tolerate, probably. But not like.

“I’ll bring my horse over and you can see,” Zelda decided, heading back over to the horses.

“What were you two talking about?” Ganondorf asked when Zelda returned. He was busy sharpening his swords. “That was a long conversation just for some apples.”

“She offered to trim the horse manes and add flowers! I may add flowers.”

Ganondorf hummed as he returned to sharpening and polishing his swords. “See if she’ll add flowers to Helltrotter’s mane.”

Helltrotter gave an offended snort, headbutting Ganondorf’s shoulder.

“What? Flowers will make you look pretty.”

Helltrotter gave his owner the stink eye before taking the offered apples from Zelda.

Zelda patted Helltrotter’s nose. “Don’t worry. You don’t have to get flowers if you don’t want to.”

Ganondorf rolled his eyes as Helltrotter nuzzled Zelda.

Zelda pulled Bluebell over to the ranch hand and she stared at the horse intently before clapping her hands.

“Oh, this one just adores you! You must be taking good care of this horse.”

Zelda thought about what she had done to deserve the horse’s affection, but came up blank.

“My name is Canni, by the way. What sort of mane customization do you want?”

"Oh, flowers.”

“Coming right up!”

Link came over and watched as Canni began to weave flowers of multiple colors into Bluebell’s mane and tail. He bounced excitedly and went to grab Epona’s bridle, pulling her over to Canni.

**Me next, me next!**

Once Canni had finished working on Bluebell, Zelda returned to Ganondorf while Link got Epona’s mane and tail braided.

“Look at how pretty Bluebell is!” Helltrotter sniffed Bluebell while Ganondorf looked at her.

“Hm. Looks nice.”

“I’ll see if she can do Helltrotter.”

Ganondorf watched as Zelda tugged a resistant Helltrotter over to Canni. He smiled slightly then returned to his sword polishing.

Canni stared at Helltrotter warily before mumbling, “While this horse clearly loves their owner, I don’t think he wants me to touch him.”

Helltrotter snorted, tossing his head.

Zelda patted Helltrotter’s neck. “Please? What other cuts can you do?”

“Uh, Mohawk, braids, long cuts dyed different colors…”

“How about a Mohawk?” Zelda asked, staring at Helltrotter. “Then you can look even more fearsome.”

Helltrotter appeared to think about Zelda’s suggestion.

“I’ll give you extra sugar cubes after dinner.”

Helltrotter bobbed his head excitedly and lowered himself to his knees to allow Canni easy access to his mane.

Canni swallowed, eyeing Helltrotter uneasily before slowly moving closer to him.

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

With their horse’s manes all done and dinner in their bellies, the group headed to Satori Mountain.

Even from a distance, the shaft of light was easy to see.

“Do you really think we’ll be able to see the Lord of the Mountain?” Zelda asked as they let the horses graze near the base of the mountain.

Ganondorf gave a shrug.

“We’ll have to be quiet so we don’t spook it,” Bazz said. “It startles at the slightest sound.”

The group nodded, walking up the path that lead to the top of the mountain. Near the top they dropped down to their hands and knees, crawling until they poked their heads over the ridge.

At the top was a tree with pink leaves and a small pond. Hopping about were a multitude of blue, glowing rabbits. Among them stood a horse-like creature with two owl-like faces and fuzzy antennae atop its head.

“Is that…?” Sidon asked.

“It’s the Lord,” Bazz whispered.

“It’s so gorgeous…” Zelda murmured, watching as the Lord grazed while the Blupee scampered between its hooves.

 **Shiny,** Link signed eagerly.

The Lord lifted its head and looked towards them, antennae standing upright.

The group ducked down quickly to avoid being seen.

The Lord remained still, its antennae vibrating to create a subsonic whistling noise.

Ganondorf could hear the strange noise, glancing over the edge and catching the Lord’s eyes.

They stared at each other before Ganondorf slowly stood up and began to approach the Lord.

Zelda gasped and tried to grab him as he left to stop him. “Gan!”

“He’s going to scare it away!” Bazz hissed.

The group looked over the ridge to see that the Lord hadn’t moved even with Ganondorf standing in front of it.

Ganondorf slowly reached out a hand, setting it against the Lord’s neck, eyes flashing a bright gold before going half-lidded. He turned to where the others were hiding.

“Come forward, children. I have been awaiting your arrival.”

Zelda glanced at the others before standing up. “Gan?”“

My name is Satori, the guardian of this mountain and the Blupees.”

Several Blupee peeked around the Lord’s legs, staring at the group warily as they approached.

“Your friend has kindly allowed me to use him to speak to you. I wish to warn you.”

“Warn us?” Bazz asked. “Of what?”

"The three wishing to halt the cycle of hatred and darkness, beware the ever-watching eyes in the shadows. They seek to derail your progress.”

“The eyes in the shadows?” Zelda murmured, looking at Link who shrugged. “You mean the Sheikah?”

“No. They are more vicious than the noble warriors of Kakariko.”

“There’s someone else after them?” Mipha asked, frowning in concern.

“There has always been someone after them. These people seek the power that resides within this boy.” Ganondorf set a hand against his chest. “And if they obtain it, Hyrule will burn.”

 **How do we know who they are?** Link asked.

“Beware the ones of blood and ink.”

The Lord stepped backward and Ganondorf dropped his hand, appearing dazed as the Lord disappeared.

The Blupees scattered once their protector had vanished.

Ganondorf sighed as he rubbed his temples. “What’d I miss?”

“The Lord of the Mountain warned us about some…eyes,” Zelda muttered.

“Eyes?” Ganondorf repeated, raising an eyebrow.

 **We don’t know either,** Link said.

Ganondorf grunted, crossing his arms. “Well, I imagine we may get some answers at the temple we were requested to go to.”

“I hope so,” Zelda sighed.

She was growing tired of all the cryptic messages they were getting.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

After returning to where they had left the horses, the group headed down Satori Mountain and through Nima Plain, crossing over Jeddo Bridge. Just before Ludfo’s Bog, they turned right, entering the jaws of white cliff teeth, the Breach of Demise.

When the road branched, they took the northern road that would take them from North Hyrule Plain to Salari Plain where Serenne Stable sat just near the cliffs of Tanagar Canyon.

It took several hours to reach the stable and by sunrise, the group had made it to the stable, exhausted with the lack of sleep.

“We’ll be sleeping now, yes?” Sidon asked with a sigh. “That was a long trip.”

“My scales are getting dry,” Mipha said. “I saw a pond near a hill a ways back.”

“I’ll accompany you,” Bazz offered.

While the two Zora left, Zelda went to get them checked in for the night.

 **We need warm garb,** Link remined.

“Right,” Ganondorf murmured. “The Zora won’t be able to handle the cold of Hebra without it….”

"If you suggest we remain here,” Sidon started but Ganondorf raised a hand to silence him.

“There may be a tailor here who could craft you guys some warm garb so you can follow us.”

Sidon seemed sated by the idea, headtail flicking.

After looking around a bit, Ganondorf spotted a traveling tailor and approached them. “Excuse me.”

The tailor looked up sharply, squinting at Ganondorf. He eyed the other’s clothes, gave an offended sniff, then mumbled, “Yes? What is it?”

“We’re going into Tabantha soon and need warm garb for six. Three of them are Zora.”

The tailor barked a laugh. “ _Zora_? What idiot would bring Zora into the snows of Hebra?”

“Me, apparently,” Ganondorf sighed impatiently. “Can you tailor some warm garb for us?"

Humming, the tailor eyed Ganondorf critically before he smiled. “Yes, of course. I’ll need some measurements, naturally. And some payment….”

“How much?”

"Not Rupees.” The tailor flapped a hand. “A quest.”

_Oh boy._

“While crossing the Great Tabantha Bridge, some monsters ambushed me and I dropped my antique needles into the canyon.”

“Pity,” Ganondorf mumbled. “Fine. We’ll find your stupid needles.”

The tailor grinned wider, grabbing Ganondorf’s hand and shaking it firmly. “The deal is done! I’ll have your garb done in a few days.”

“A few days?!” Ganondorf squawked. “You can’t be serious!”

"You expect me to have magical powers that just poof the garb into existence? No, I have to find the materials and then stitch them together and then—”

Ganondorf held up a hand to stop the tailor’s tangent. He sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose with his other hand. “Fine….a few days. No more. We’re in a bit of a hurry.”

The tailor appeared pleased and scurried off.

Ganondorf groaned as he returned to the others.

Sidon was already asleep on one of the beds and the horses had been stripped of their saddles and bridles.

Zelda was busy brushing them while Link worked on an early morning breakfast.

Zelda looked at Ganondorf as he approached. “Did you find a tailor?”

“Yes. But we’re stuck here for several days and with a quest.”

 **A quest?** Link asked, perking up.

“The guy dropped some old needles into the canyon and wants us to get them for him.”

“That doesn’t seem too hard,” Zelda said. “We’re near the canyon anyway and with the few days we have to wait, it wouldn’t hurt.”

Ganondorf grumbled as he crossed his arms, giving a nod. “Yeah, I suppose you’re right…”

 **I’m sure we can find something to do,** Link said. **We’re not in that much of a hurry.**

 _No, we aren’t,_ Ganondorf admitted internally.

But Rhoam didn’t know that.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

_The heat coming towards him was comparable to the intensity of Death Mountain._

_Ganondorf glanced around, noticing that he stood at the edge of Tanagar Canyon._

_Whistling wind surrounded him and a great dragon rushed up from the depths of the canyon._

_Ganondorf gazed at the dragon in awe as it looped up into the air before arching downward until it landed near Ganondorf, body coiled around the redhead._

_“Dinraal,” Ganondorf breathed, staring at the great fire dragon._

_Dinraal’s red crest of curved horns lit up the night like a blazing fire, smoke exhaling through his nostrils._

_“Good evening, young king,” Dinraal murmured. “Naydra mentioned you would be here at her behest.”_

_"You were waiting for me, too.” Dinraal dipped his head. “To meet Din’s chosen one is an honor. Especially when this cycle diverges from the cycles before.”_

_“Because…I’m not evil?”_

_"Nor are you a king. You are a teenager with your best friends on a quest for a peaceful life.”_

_Ganondorf dropped his gaze. “I’m trying my best.”_

_"The darkness ever surrounding you will not release its claws, young one. You can either let it drag you or fight it. That will show what kind of person you are.” Dinraal turned his head, staring down into Tanagar Canyon. “Be wary of the temple. Sheikah have installed strange machinations to prevent thieves.”_

_"Strange machinations?” Ganondorf repeated, looking down into the canyon and spotting a long roof nestled at the back of the canyon._

_That was the temple they had to go to, he imagined._

_“You will receive all your answers there,” Dinraal said, shaking his head to dislodge a scale which floated into Ganondorf’s hands._

_Warmth flowed through the scale and into Ganondorf, making him feel relaxed._

_“Good luck, young one!” Dinraal called as he pushed off the ground, soaring into the air before diving into the canyon._

“Gan!”

Ganondorf’s eyes snapped open and he turned at the voice to see Zelda and the others running towards him.

A pulsing warmth drew his attention to his hands where he held onto Dinraal’s scale. Then he noticed that he was standing at the edge of the canyon.

Had that…been a dream? Why was he out by the canyon?

 **Are you all right?** Link asked as the group stopped by Ganondorf.

“Uh….I think?” Ganondorf showed the scale. “I got Dinraal’s scale. I don’t remember how I got here though.”

“We all took a nap,” Mipha said. “When we woke up, you were gone.”

“Some of the people at the stable said they saw you heading to the canyon,” Zelda said. “What happened?”

“Dinraal spoke to me. I thought it was a dream.”

“Apparently not,” Sidon murmured. “How strange. A dream that’s not a dream.”

“A vision?” Bazz asked.

Ganondorf shook his head, gazing down into the canyon as he pocketed the scale. He pointed to the roof of the temple. “That’s where we have to go.”

“What temple is that?” Sidon asked. “I’ve never heard mention of a temple in Tanagar.”

"That is the Forgotten Temple,” Zelda said. “It used to be a place of worship but after a while, people forgot about it. Hence the name.”

“That temple is our answer to the scales and what we’re doing,” Ganondorf muttered. “We’re going down there.”

 **How?** Link asked. **Climb down?**

“That’s a death wish,” Bazz said. “We can’t climb that well.”

Ganondorf thought about it, remembering that he had looked at the canyon on the map and there was a sloping entrance. “We’ll go towards Illumeni Plateau. Past it, there should be an entrance to the canyon.”

“Won’t that take a while?” Mipha asked.

“We have a few days while the tailor works.” Ganondorf gave a shrug as he grinned. “Besides, we need to get his dumb needles anyway.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about any potential errors; I don't do a thorough scrub down of the finished chapters xD  
> See you all next Friday! Remember that Comments and Kudos breathe life into me :)


	15. Arc 1: The Forgotten Temple

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for any errors. I didn't do a beta  
> we don't need beta anyway we die like men

After eating lunch and making a few snacks that could tide them over until they returned from the temple, the group headed out.

Following Ganondorf’s lead, they went past Illumeni Plateau and down into the canyon. The opening was sloped, allowing easy access for the horses.

The Zora walked on either side of the horses, staring up at the gradually growing canyon sides.

“There’s bound to be a few monsters lurking in here,” Zelda said as they walked. “We should be careful.”

“We got the Zora on our side,” Ganondorf snorted. “What could possibly go wrong?”

Zelda shot an annoyed look at Ganondorf who grinned at her.

The group walked in silence, encountering a few wolves that scattered at the sight of Helltrotter.

Halfway through the canyon, Ganondorf spotted the giant rocks carved into the shape of skulls before anyone else and slowed Helltrotter, holding up his hand so the others did the same.

“What is it?” Sidon asked.

“Two monster camps up ahead, across from each other.” Ganondorf slid down and moved to the curved side of the canyon.

The Zora followed him as Link and Zelda slid down from their horses.

From their vantage point they could see two skull camps with a sniper nest beside either one, a red Bokoblin standing on one and a green Lizalfos guarding the other.

Both were keeping watch for potential threats.

“There could be two more snipers on the other sides,” Bazz mumbled. “We need to take them out before they alert their comrades.”

Ganondorf glanced at Link. “Link?”

Link nodded, taking out his bow and an arrow. He moved quickly to a boulder that was close to the Bokoblin’s perch, crouching down when the Lizalfos looked towards him.

Nocking the arrow, Link turned around the side of the boulder and took aim.

The arrow buried itself between the Bokoblin’s eyes, dropping it without a sound.

The Lizalfos gave a confused yap when its comrade suddenly collapsed, bouncing on its feet then looking around.

Taking out another arrow, Link nocked it then drew back the bowstring.

The Lizalfos gave a loud yap when it spotted Link leaning around the boulder but before it could pull out its warning horn, an arrow lodged itself in its left eye. With a shriek the Lizalfos crumpled.

Link gave a thumbs up.

“We’ll split up,” Ganondorf said. “Zora, the left skull. We’ll take the right. Loop behind the skulls to see if there are any more sniper nests.”

The Zora nodded and headed to the left skull, their weapons pulled from their backs.

Ganondorf, Link, and Zelda took the other skull.

On the other side of the skulls were two more sniper nests with a red Bokoblin and green Lizalfos.

Link shot both of them down.

As Link gathered the arrows the Lizalfos had dropped, Zelda and Ganondorf peeked into the skull to see what enemies they were dealing with.

A black Moblin wielding a dragonbone club, a blue Bokoblin with a boko bow, and a green Lizalfos with a claymore.

“Not too tough,” Zelda whispered. “Should we go in?”

Link tapped the two then pointed to the two red barrels that sat in the hideout. He made an explosion gesture.

“Explosive barrels, huh?” Ganondorf mumbled. “That can give us an advantage.”

“How?” Zelda asked.

“Hold out two of your knives.”

With a confused look, Zelda took out two knives and held them out to Ganondorf.

Ganondorf set his hands on either knife, a flame coming to his palms. When he pulled back, the knives were aflame. “Throw them at the barrels."

With a nod, Zelda moved to the mouth of the hideout and tossed the knives at both barrels.

The second the flaming tips embedded themselves in the barrels, they exploded, enveloping the monsters who screeched.

As the flames cleared, the Lizalfos down for the count and the other two monsters frantically patting out the flames racing across their skin, the three leapt into the den to attack.

The Zora were busy taking down a silver Bokoblin, a black Lizalfos, and a blue Moblin.

Sidon was going one on one with the Moblin while Mipha and Bazz fought back to back, defending the other from the Bokoblin and Lizalfos’s attacks.

When the Bokoblin leapt at him once more, sword raised for a downward slash, Bazz lunged his spear forward, catching the Bokoblin in the chest with the sharp tip.

“Duck down!”

Glancing at Bazz, Mipha ducked as he turned around, swinging his spear around and dislodging the Bokoblin where it smacked into the Lizalfos.

With the two entangled, Mipha and Bazz moved forward to finish off the monsters with stabs through the head.

Mipha sighed and looked at Bazz who grinned at her.

“You’re an excellent fighter, princess.”

"As are you, guard captain.”

“Are you two seriously flirting on the battlefield?” Sidon asked as he stabbed the Moblin through the neck and twisted it to quickly end the monster’s suffering.

A blue blush crossed both Zora’s faces as they snapped, “We are not flirting!”

Sidon smiled as he set his spear across his back, making his way out of the den.

Bazz and Mipha glanced at each other before quickly looking away, following after Sidon.

“Ah, are you guys finished as well?” Sidon asked when Zelda and the others came out from the opposite skull.

Ganondorf nodded as Link went to search the rest of the deceased monsters for parts. “Wasn’t too difficult with teamwork.”

“Glad to be of service,” Bazz said. “We’ll help however we can.”

Mipha nodded.

“Let’s keep going,” Zelda said. “We’re not too far from the temple.”

Once Link had finished gathering dropped arrows, the group resumed their trek.

The entrance to the Forgotten Temple soon loomed in the distance.

Zelda was about to say something but Ganondorf put a hand over her mouth. He pointed to something in the distance.

Zelda looked and saw what had gotten everyone to be so quiet.

Two red Lynel patrolling in the distance.

The group moved back to stay out of the Lynel’s sight.

“Why are there Lynel here?” Mipha asked. “Much less two?”

“I thought they traveled alone,” Sidon agreed.

“Perhaps these two are mates?” Zelda suggested nervously.

But that wasn’t the answer. Lynels didn’t mate for life. Nor did mates stay around each other.

Link stared at the Lynels intently before he got the attention of the group, pointing at the Lynel’s manes. **Shiny.**

The group looked and in the manes of the Lynels were a single pair of needles.

“The needles!” Ganondorf gasped. “Why are they all the way over here?”

“It’s quite possible crows picked them up,” Zelda said. “Crows have a habit of gathering anything shiny.”

“We need to retrieve them from the Lynel.”

“How?” Bazz asked. “They could have shock arrows.”

“One hit from those and we’re done for,” Sidon said.

“Well, we can’t take on two Lynel,” Zelda protested.

“How are we going to see the arrows without combatting them?” Ganondorf mumbled to himself, staring at the Lynel pacing beside each other.

 **We could challenge them from a distance,** Link suggested. **They’ll shoot at us and we’ll be able to see what elemental arrows they have.**

“We have 1/3rd of a chance of shock arrows,” Zelda said, frowning. She nodded. “It’s crazy but it seems like we have no other choice. They’re blocking the path to the temple.”

“And they have the needles that tailor needs,” Ganondorf sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. “This is suicidal and dangerous.”

“Danger?” Zelda snorted, grinning. “I laugh in the face of danger. Ha ha!”

Ganondorf rolled his eyes then looked at the Zora. “We’ll give you a signal if it’s safe.”

“Please be careful,” Mipha said as the three slowly approached the Lynel.

Link shot an arrow at the Lynel to get them to look in their direction.

The Lynel stared at the three for several seconds before taking their bows off their backs.

In tandem, the Lynel nocked an arrow and raised it to the sky.

Ganondorf squinted at the arrow tips, seeing a glowing blue and a flaming red.

He gave a thumbs up then jumped to the side with Link and Zelda, avoiding the six arrows that had landed right where they had been.

“No shock arrows!” Sidon said.

Bazz nodded. “Let’s go!”

The three Zora charged out of their hiding spot and engaged the Lynel on the right.

Zelda, Ganondorf and Link took on the left Lynel.

The Lynel roared at the intruders, pulling of their swords and shields to fight back.

The Lynel that was battling Zelda and the others raised its sword above its head.

Link shot an arrow at its face and the Lynel shrieked, dropping to its knees from the attack.

While it was stunned from the hit, Zelda and Ganondorf both lunged forward to strike the Lynel with their swords.

Shaking its head with a snarl, the Lynel stood up. It roared, flames gathering in its open mouth.

The three moved in different directions to avoid the fireballs that the Lynel began to launch at them.

The second the fireballs had stopped, Link charged at the Lynel which reacted by raising up its sword. Link slid underneath the beast’s legs, the sword slamming into the ground behind him, and stabbed its chest with his sword.

The Lynel reared up with a roar.

Taking advantage of the Lynel’s opening, Ganondorf moved forward and crouched down a bit, yelling, “The neck, Zelda!”

Realizing the plan, Zelda nodded and rushed towards Ganondorf who lowered his arm enough to allow her to jump onto it before he thrust his arm up, sending Zelda into the air to get her up at a higher angle and better vantage point to throw her knives which buried themselves into the exposed section of the Lynel’s throat.

As Zelda landed on the ground, the Lynel made a gurgling noise as it fell to its knees before it collapsed.

“Good aim,” Ganondorf said, grinning at Zelda while Link brushed himself off.

Zelda smiled at the praise then looked over to see how Sidon and the other two Zora were doing with their Lynel.

The Zora were handling the second Lynel with equal ease. Sidon using his stronger form to keep the Lynel’s attention on him while Mipha and Bazz circled the beast, stabbing at it with their spears to weaken it.

Once the second Lynel had crumpled, Ganondorf gathered the needles from their manes while Sidon picked up one of the dropped bows.

“This could be useful,” he muttered, pulling the string and testing the weight of the bow.

 **You use a bow?** Link asked, appearing surprised.

Sidon nodded. “I usually use my sword or spear, but I am also proficient in archery.”

Link grinned.

“Let’s keep going,” Zelda said. “The temple’s up ahead.”

The group continued to the Forgotten Temple and entered it, coming into a large open area.

Beyond they could see two more sections. Scattered around the area were strange machinations. Soldier statues wielding maces, a strange machine that traveled back and forth on an invisible path with a single eye and twisting disks beside its head, and stationary machines with a single eye that rotated their heads side to side.

“What are those?” Sidon breathed.

“They look like Skye,” Zelda said, pointing to the stationary machines.

“Dinraal mentioned the temple was guarded by Sheikah machines,” Ganondorf muttered.

“All these are Sheikah made?” Mipha asked, trying to see past the first section in an attempt to see what they were up against.

“Why are there machines guarding an abandoned temple?” Bazz asked.

“Perhaps there is something of importance at the end,” Ganondorf said.

Link’s eyes lit up. **Treasure?**

“Do not run ahead,” Zelda said. “We don’t know what these machines do.”

“What’s this?” Sidon asked, gesturing to a dark rock sitting on a pedestal.

“Not sure,” Zelda said, moving closer and touching the rock, looking it over.

“Is that the Sheikah symbol?” Ganondorf asked, pointing to the white lines etched into the rock, shaped like the Sheikah eye.

Link stared at the rock intently before he snapped his fingers. **Timeshift stone!**

“What?” Ganondorf grunted.

 **It can turn back time a bit if you hit it,** Link pointed at the patch of shifting sand blocking them from going on. **Could get rid of this.**

“Then all we do is hit it?” Zelda asked, taking out her sword to strike it.

“Whoa, whoa.” Ganondorf grabbed her wrist. “We don’t know if it actually does that or if it’s been rigged to explode when struck.”

The group stared at the supposed timeshift stone before moving back to the entrance.

Link nocked an arrow and shot the stone.

The stone lit up a bright blue, the flooring of the temple changing to a new stone and the sand pit disappearing, replaced by solid floor.

Link smirked smugly at the group.

“What about the other monsters?” Sidon asked, gesturing to the machines.

Link stared at them before saying, **The Beamos are easy. But those…**

Link stared at the mace-wielding soldier, frowning.

**They were only in silent realms. Not sure how it’s here.**

“How do we kill it?” Bazz questioned.

Link shook his head. **Can’t kill.**

“Then we just avoid it,” Ganondorf said.

**I imagine it will start moving the second we move past this section.**

Zelda frowned then noticed a lock door off to the side. “Look. Maybe that has something that could help us.”

“It’s locked, though,” Mipha said.

“I see another timeshift stone!” Sidon said, pointing to a stone near the opposite corner of the room.

The stone was close to the stationary machine.

“Okay, what do we do?” Bazz asked.

 **Take care of the Beamos,** Link said, gesturing to the moving Beamos. **Slice the blue lines to cut it down then stab its eye.**

Sidon nodded and moved to take care of the Beamos. The second he stepped outside the circle the timeshift stone created, the Guardian lifted its head and locked eyes with the group.

“What do we do now?!” Zelda asked as the Guardian charged at them.

**Distract it! I’ll get the other stone!**

The group went into the temple and Link parted from the group, heading to the second timeshift stone.

When he got closer, the Sheikah machine turned its head to face him, a red targeting beam aiming at his chest.

Link took out an arrow and nocked it on his bow, firing it at the timeshift stone.

The second the stone lit up, the Sheikah machine disappeared, a pile of screws and gears replacing it.

The stone’s time bubble spread out to the door and the chains covering it disappeared.

Link went inside as the group continued to distract the Guardian, barely avoiding the wide swipes of its mace.

Sidon lunged at the Guardian with his spear, the tip glancing off the armor.

The Guardian turned its head to look at the Zora. Just as it was about to raise its mace to counterattack, a fireball struck the side of its head. It looked towards Ganondorf.

“Over here, you walking tin can.”

Link came out, carrying a small square device that had two sticks which moved horizontally and vertically.

Zelda moved closer to him while the rest continued to distract the Guardian. “What is it?”

Link gave a shrug, shaking his head. He pressed a few buttons on the machine, but nothing happened.

“Dead?” Zelda asked, sheathing her sword and taking the machine from Link. She pressed a few buttons.

A small yellow creature appeared on the floor, a blue mask covering its face.

 **How did you do that?** Link asked eagerly.

Zelda shrugged, looking between the machine in her hands and the creature. She pushed one of the sticks up and the creature moved forward. She moved another stick to the left and the creature moved left. “Oh! This controls that thing!”

**What do we do with the Bombchu?**

Zelda frowned then looked at the Guardian. “Perhaps it’s to help us with that.”

 **I told you the Guardians aren’t beatable!** Link said as Zelda carefully maneuvered the Bombchu towards the Guardian.

The second the Bombchu made contact with the Guardian’s leg, it exploded and the Guardian froze, mace raised in the air.

Link’s jaw dropped as the others moved around the frozen Guardian.

“How did you do that?” Bazz asked.

“That’s what this is for.” Zelda held up the controller. “It stops them.”

“For how long?” Ganondorf muttered, glancing back at the Guardian.

“Let’s move on before we find out,” Sidon suggested.

The group moved to the second part of the temple as Zelda inspected the controller, mumbling to herself.

The second room had two Guardians in the middle, two timeshift stones along the opposite walls close to the one-eyed Sheikah death machines. Two Beamos roamed opposite corners.

As the Guardians came to life, Link shot the timeshift stones to turn the stationary machines into piles of screws and gears.

Zelda summoned another Bombchu. “Distract the Guardians and I’ll bomb them!”

Bazz moved to one of the Guardians while Ganondorf took care of the nearby Beamos.

Zelda maneuvered the Bombchu and manage to hit one of the Guardians, freezing it. She called another Bombchu to get the second one.

While the second Guardian was distracted, Link went to destroy the other Beamos.

“This thing is awesome!” Zelda exclaimed after freezing the second Guardian. “I wonder if I can keep it.”

 _Oh, no,_ Ganondorf thought as they moved to the last room, a smaller room laying beyond. _She has the same bomb itch Link does._

With a basic plan down, Link shot the timeshift stones to take care of the stationary machines while Ganondorf took care of the nearest Beamos. Zelda aimed Bombchus at the Guardians while they were distracted to get them to freeze.

It took a few minutes to clear the room and the group entered the last area.

All that greeted them was an enormous statue of Hylia, faded with age.

Link searched around for a treasure chest.

“That’s _it_ ?” Ganondorf asked, offended that after all their work they were only rewarded with a statue.

“Well this was a place of worship,” Zelda murmured.

“But why guard a statue?” Mipha asked. “That seems kind of strange.”

“It does,” Bazz agreed, crossing his arms. “Perhaps there’s something we’re missing?”

“Or the Goddesses are liars,” Ganondorf mumbled.

All that time wasted when they could have searched for more springs.

“No, they are not liars, my friends,” a voice murmured. “I have been awaiting your arrival.”

The group turned at the voice, gaping at what they saw.

Standing at the doorway to the room was a youthful woman with long blonde hair that cascaded to her lower back and sea-green eyes. She had on a white dress that went to her ankles and large white wings rested against her back.

“Hylia…?” Zelda asked uncertainly.

She hadn’t heard of the Goddess showing herself to people.

Hylia smiled at Zelda gently. “Hello, Zelda.”

She looked at Link.

“And Link.”

Link avoided Hylia’s gaze, but glanced up every so often in awe.

“And Ganondorf,” Hylia said, smiling at the redhead. She looked at his swords and tilted her head. “Where is Ghirahim?”

“He disintegrated,” Ganondorf snapped sharply.

Why did she want to talk about something like _that_?

Hylia merely gave a mysterious smile. “Are you quite sure?”

“Huh?”

“Never mind.” Hylia shook her head. “Naydra would never lie to you, Ganondorf. A long time ago, I asked my old friend Impa to create machinations to protect this temple from thieves and vandalizers.”

“Wait,” Sidon piped up. “You mean you knew they would come here?”

Hylia giggled, her wings shifting. “Of course. I also created the springs and the temples that house them.”

“Why?” Mipha asked.

“I knew a cycle would come when Demise—or as you know him now Ganondorf—would want to break out of it.”

“Is that why the temples require all three of us?” Zelda asked.

Hylia nodded. “Yes. I knew the three of you would end up traveling together one way or another.”

Ganondorf, Zelda, and Link glanced at each other then back at Hylia.

“Then you’ll tell us what we need to do with the dragon’s scales?” Ganondorf asked.

“Of course.” Hylia gave a nod. “But first I wish to tell you all a story.”

 **A story?** Link questioned, tilting his head.

“The history of Demise.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> letting Zelda have the bombchu machine is a baaaad idea  
> also not sure how much I'll be doing typing wise. My right arm and wrist hurt like hell and make it difficult to type without pain. Gonna see a doctor soon about it since it's been over a week.  
> Also anyone like Promptis/Gladnis from FFXV? Gonna do a new story called Samurai's Honor, Shinobi's Code. Look forward to it soon xD  
> Comments and Kudos are my life blood XD


	16. Arc 1: The History of Demise

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this isn't one of my favorite chapters. It's slightly shorter than the others as well.  
> this is mostly self-indulgent lore and shit

_Orla had always been. She had existed since time immemorial and was the one to create the three Golden Goddesses and Hylia._

_She created Din from the lava of a fiery mountain. Like the mountain’s fire her hair was red and her eyes were orange. She was feisty and unpredictable and just as passionate as fire._

_Nayru was created from the frozen waters of a glacier. Her hair was shorter than Din’s and the color of snow tinged with blue. Her eyes were sharp and glacier. Nayru used logic and wit to calculate her next move at almost every turn._

_Farore was created from the forest leaves and vines. She kept her leaf green hair in a ponytail. Her eyes were as green as her hair. She was adventurous and always getting into some sort of trouble, usually with Din._

_Hylia was the youngest of her sisters by two years. Orla had created her from a sundrop and the breeze’s breath. Hylia was different from her sisters with long blonde hair the color of golden thread and sky-blue eyes; she was almost a spitting image of her mother. Hylia was more interested in studying anything and everything she set her gaze on. She loved reading and researching the creations her mother had made; beings called animals._

_They came in all sorts of sizes and shapes. Some were fluffy and some were scaly. Others were nice and some were mean._

_“What are they called?” Hylia asked, staring at the flapping fluffy creatures hopping along the ground, pecking at it._

_“Birds,” Orla answered. “They go chirp chirp.”_

_“Chirp chirp!” Hylia said at the birds._

_The birds stared at her before resuming their pecking._

_Hylia giggled at them._

_Orla patted Hylia’s head. “I have something to give your sisters. Why don’t you entertain yourself, hm?”_

_"What are you going to give them? Do I get something too?”_

_“These are just for your sisters, Hylia.”_

_Hylia pouted, crossing her arms and stomping a foot as her wings fluffed up. “But I want to have what they have!”_

_“Hylia!” Orla scolded sharply. “That is not how a Goddess acts.”_

_Hylia scowled, her ears lowering as she looked at the ground._

_“I won’t be long.”_

_Hylia made a noise as she watched her mother leave to find her sisters. After a bit, Hylia realized that she was left alone._

_She grinned, looking out to the inviting green laying beyond, trees looming in the distance._

_Her mother never let her explore the world without accompanying her. But with her mother dealing with her sisters, Hylia could go on her own._

_Glancing behind her to make sure her mother wasn’t coming back, Hylia ran off with a laugh, scattering the birds._

_\--------------------------------------------------------------------------_

_Hylia glanced around as she walked through the forest, taking in all the birds that hopped around or the lizards that skittered at the sight of her._

_It was nice to wander around without Orla breathing down her neck._

_Stopping by a pond, Hylia stared at the fish lazily swimming beneath the waters. “Hello, fishies.”_

_A few fish stared at her blankly._

_She laughed at them then looked behind her when she realized she couldn’t hear the birds chirping anymore. Standing up, Hylia looked around the silent forest, unsure as to why the birds had left so suddenly._

_A wind rustled the tree leaves and Hylia’s feathers fluffed._

_Hylia suddenly didn’t feel comfortable in the forest anymore._

_“I think it’s time to go,” Hylia mumbled to herself, backing away._

_Out from the depths of the forest jumped a large, shaggy black wolf that snarled at Hylia._

_Hylia screamed, backing up more. “Mama!”_

_She had heard demons roamed the world but they rarely came out during the day. Orla frightened them._

_The wolf growled at Hylia, slowly creeping towards her._

_Hylia glanced side to side frantically, searching for a way to hide from the demon._

_As the demon crouched down, a tiny blur tackled it to the ground. There was a loud snarl and a high-pitched shriek as the two creatures fought._

_Whatever had tackled the demon clamped its jaw around the demon’s neck, holding on tightly until it fell still._

_With the scuffle over, Hylia could see her savior a bit better._

_It reached up to her knees and was covered in thick black scales. A thin ridge of flames ran down its back and its mouth was riddled with three rows of needle teeth. The creature lacked eyes but was still somehow able to see._

_Hylia moved closer to see the strange creature up close, noticing that it had long arms tipped with white fingers._

_It was probably a demon, but it was cute and small._

_The creature was busy trying to either drag the dead wolf demon off or trying to tear off the fur. It was hard to tell, but it was emitting tiny growls in its attempts._

_“Cute,” Hylia whispered, watching the creature._

_The creature seemed to notice her and hissed, covering the wolf to claim it as his own, scales bristling._

_“I’m not gonna hurt you, little guy. My name is Hylia. Do you have a name?”_

_The creature growled quietly before its scales flattened, staring in her direction curiously._

_“Oh, I guess not.” Hylia frowned, crossing her arms before she grinned. “I’m going to call you Scaley because you’re covered in scales.”_

_Scaley looked at himself with a grumbling growl before grunting, hopping from foot to foot._

_“I take it you like that. Where are your mommy and daddy?”_

_Scaley whined, slumping miserably._

_“Oh…” Hylia’s wings lowered. “So, you’re alone, huh? You don’t have any friends either?”_

_Scaley shook his head._

_Hylia pouted before she gasped. “Oh, why don’t I be your friend? My sisters will be so jealous…”_

_Scaley tilted his head with a grumble._

_Hylia tried to pick Scaley up but when she touched his scales, she pulled back when they bit her fingers. “Ow!”_

_She sucked on her fingers as Scaley flattened his scales against his body even more, appearing concerned._

_“They’re sharp…” Hylia murmured, shaking her hands then looking at them. Her wounds were already healing but she couldn’t pick Scaley up without cutting her hands. “Hmm….”_

_An idea struck her and she tore off the end of her dress, wrapping it around Scaley. Then she picked him up._

_“There we go. Now your scales can’t hurt me.”_

_Scaley made a grumbling noise, head lifted to look at Hylia._

_“Let’s go show you to my sisters!”_

_\----------------------------------------------------------------------------_

_“There you are, Hylia!” Orla sighed when she saw Hylia only to gasp, moving forward and grabbing Hylia’s arm._

_The force caused Hylia to drop Scaley who squeaked when he hit the ground._

_Orla pulled her away from Scaley as Hylia’s sisters all looked past Orla to stare at the small creature._

_“Why are you holding a Wyrm?!”_

_"Huh?” Hylia asked, staring up at her mother in confusion. “A Wyrm?”_

_“That’s a demon! One of the most dangerous ones!”_

_“Scaley saved my life from another demon though,” Hylia mumbled. “He can’t be that bad.”_

_“You named it? Ah, you daft girl. Wyrms grow quickly and get to be as tall as mountains!” Orla squinted at Scaley who remained where he was, shifting foot to foot with small whines. “Hn. He appears small. A runt perhaps. I imagine his parents abandoned him to die. They don’t take care of the sick or runts.”_

_Hylia pulled her arm out of her mother’s grasp. “Scaley isn’t like his family though! He saved me so he has to be good!”_

_“A demon is a demon! It needs to be put down.”_

" _No!” Hylia stood in front of Scaley, puffing herself up. “You’ll have to go through me to get to him!”_

_Orla blew out an aggravated breath at Hylia’s defiance before she crossed her arms. “Fine. Keep it away from your sisters. The second it does something wrong, I’ll end it.”_

_Hylia watched her mother leave before she turned to pick Scaley up. “Don’t listen to her. You’re a good demon.”_

_Scaley gave a purring growl before baring his teeth when Din, Nayru and Farore approached._

_On their shoulders sat three small dragons of different colors and wearing what appeared to be cloaks._

_Hylia stared at the dragons and wondered whether they were the presents her mother had said she would give to the three._

_“What is that?” Din asked, staring at Scaley. “Is it really a demon like mom said?”_

_"It’s ugly,” Nayru muttered, leaning a bit closer to Scaley._

_“You’re ugly,” Hylia snapped, squeezing Scaley as she pouted at her sisters. “Don’t listen to them, Scaley. You’re beautiful in your own way.”_

_Farore snorted as she scratched her dragon’s chest. “You’re going to keep it?”_

_"Mm-hm. Scaley saved me, so I’m going to protect him.”_

_Din rolled her eyes, crossing her arms. “You’re so weird.”_

_“I am not!”_

_"You are! You’re always doing something weird and unnatural and just not Goddess-like!”_

_“W-well….maybe I don’t wanna be a Goddess!” Hylia stomped a foot, wings flaring out as she squeezed Scaley even tighter until he squeaked. “Then I wouldn’t have mean sisters like you!”_

_“Hylia,” Nayru murmured, reaching a hand out to the blonde. “She didn’t mean it like that.”_

_Hylia took a step back, out of reach of Nayru’s touch, tears pricking at the corners of her eyes. She glared at them before running off to her room._

_“Nice going, Din,” Farore muttered._

_“Why is it my fault?!” Din complained, throwing up her hands._

_“You didn’t have to be so cruel,” Nayru said. “She’s our sister. We all have our quirks and it doesn’t make her weird or unusual or a freak. Hylia is Hylia and you know our mother made her to surpass her when the time comes.”_

_\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------_

_Hylia pouted in her room, leaning against her pillow as she clung to Scaley._

_Scaley didn’t complain at the pressure keeping him still, letting Hylia use him as a comfort measure._

_“Stupid dumb sisters…thinking they’re better than me because they’re older.”_

_Scaley lifted his head to look up at Hylia who was still pouting._

_“And why do they get dragons? What’s so special about them? You’re way cooler than some dumb lizard.”_

_Scaley gave a low grumble, flattening his scales so he could bump his head gently against Hylia’s chin._

_Hylia sighed, pressing her forehead against Scaley’s forehead. “They’re not even any fun to play with….I want a friend my age to play with. Someone who won’t make me feel lonely.”_

_Scaley remained still, thinking about Hylia’s words. She had taken him in on the mistake of him saving her life from the wolf demon when he had been hunting it for food. But she was nice and made him feel safe. She was warm too._

_Maybe they could help each other._

_Wriggling out of Hylia’s grasp, Scaley hopped off her bead._

_Hylia sniffed a bit, watching as Scaley went to the door of her bedroom. “Scaley? Where are you going?”_

_Scaley turned to Hylia, giving a low grumble. He couldn’t tell her he would be back since he couldn’t speak but he hoped she would understand his message._

_Hylia watched as Scaley opened the door then left. Her wings drooped as she wrapped her arms around her legs, resting her chin on her knees. “Okay, bye….”_

_She must have annoyed the demon with her incessant chattering._

_\------------------------------------------------------------------------------_

_Hylia sighed as she tossed more bread at the ducks swimming on the pond’s surface, watching them squabble over it._

_It had been a few days since Scaley’s disappearance and since she hadn’t seen him anywhere, she assumed he had returned to wherever he had come from._

_“It’s for the best,” Orla had said. “Demons like that aren’t meant to be around Goddesses.”_

_Hylia wasn’t so sure if Scaley had been a demon. That was just what her mother told her._

_A footstep sounded behind her and Hylia turned rapidly, feathers raising in alarm._

_A few feet away stood a boy her age with dark skin and red hair that flickered like fire. His eyes were read as well and Hylia thought that the boy’s arms were covered in scales._

_The boy wore what appeared to be a strip of cloth around his waist._

_Hylia stared at the boy. Was he a creation of her mother’s? Had Orla made him to give her a friend?_

_The boy gave a small wave at Hylia, smiling nervously. His teeth were sharp. “Hello. My name is…”_

**_You will bring demise upon our brood, runt!_ **

_"Demise.”_

_Hylia gave a slight chuckle. “Demise? That’s a silly name.”_

_“It is?” Demise rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. “I can change it to another name if you wish.”_

_"Didn’t your parents name you Demise?”_

_Demise appeared to flinch but didn’t respond to her question, instead pointing at the ducks. “What are you doing?”_

_"Oh.” Hylia looked at the ducks who were watching her, waiting for more bread. “I’m feeding the ducks.”_

_“Ducks? That’s what they’re called?”_

_Hylia glanced at him. “You’ve never seen a duck before?”_

_Demise shrugged. “I have. I just didn’t know what they were called. Can I help?”_

_Hylia grinned. “Of course!”_

_\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_

“I only realized that Scaley was Demise when I saw the Imprisoned for the first time,” Hylia sighed, shaking her head as she clasped her hands together. “I didn’t think to question it and he hadn’t told me. I don’t even know how he became human. Wyrms didn’t have the ability to transform into a human form.”

Ganondorf glanced at Zelda who appeared to be deep in thought.

Link frowned, he hadn’t thought that the Imprisoned was a different form for Demise; he had thought it was just a result of being sealed. **Why are you telling us this?**

“Because knowing the history of Demise is knowing the history of Malice."

Zelda looked up sharply at Hylia’s words. “Are you saying you think the Malice gave Demise a human form?”

“It’s quite possible the Malice was a demon. A parasitic demon. It offered him a body, something he wanted, in return for shelter.” Hylia closed her eyes. “Of course, it had ulterior motives.”

"So we’re purging the parasite,” Ganondorf said, “by bathing in the springs.”

Hylia nodded with a smile. “Yes. Purging yourselves may not get rid of the Malice in its entirety but for this cycle you’ll be free.”

“Are you sure?” Zelda asked.

“I can’t be certain that the Malice hasn’t thought of this eventuality, but you three will be safe from its grasp.”

The three glanced at each other before looking back at Hylia.

 **What do we do now?** Link asked.

Hylia smiled, pleased with the determination. “The three scales have to be offered up to the stone labyrinths created by the Zonai. In them, you will be challenged using your wisdom, power, and courage. The rewards you gain will help you in future temples.”

“Where is the first labyrinth?” Ganondorf asked.

“Tabantha. It is in North Tabantha Snowfield, nestled just pas a mountain.” Hylia smiled. “Don’t worry. You’ll be able to spot it easily.”

Zelda bowed. “Thank you for your guidance, Hylia.”

“The pleasure was all mine, young ones. I give you my blessing.” Hylia watched the three as they departed and sighed. “Good luck. The journey is only going to get much difficult, champions.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> also it's NaNoWriMo and I may try to get this story to 100k but I dunno if I will.  
> I hope the next chapter will be better  
> Comments and Kudos make my life a lot better :3


	17. Arc 1: Hebra's Bite

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yep another chapter because I CAN  
> also nanowrimo :3

After traversing through Tanagar Canyon, the group returned to Serenne Stable.

While the others followed Link to get some food, Ganondorf searched for the tailor, spotting him standing near a tree. Approaching the man, Ganondorf took out the needles and held them out. “Here’s your needles.”

The man gasped, snatching the needles from Ganondorf and pressing them to his face. “My babies! You’re safe!”

He stared at the needles critically, searching for any sign that they weren’t actually his before he nodded, satisfied.

“Excellent work. I expected nothing less.”

Ganondorf rolled his eyes, holding out a hand. “The clothes? You did make them, right?”

“Of course, of course.” The man bobbed his head, rummaging through his bag. “They were easier to make than I originally thought. Six warm outfits for your travels into Tabantha.”

Ganondorf was handed a pile of clothes soft to the touch and lined with cotton.

Ganondorf gave a nod. “Thank you.”

“Ah, a word before you go, young sir.”

With an internal sigh, Ganondorf mumbled, “What?”

“If you go towards the Rito Village, you may spot a strange cart that appears only at night. The man who runs it is known as Kilton, the one who communes with monsters. It might benefit you to see if you can visit him.”

 _Kilton?_ Ganondorf wondered. He hadn’t heard that name before. But it couldn’t hurt to visit Rito Village either. They did need to find the location of the next spring; perhaps it was near that area of Hebra.

“Thank you for the information,” Ganondorf muttered, inclining his head at the tailor before he walked back towards the stable.

The man smiled before he wandered off, petting his needles and murmuring to them.

“Are those the clothes?” Zelda asked when she saw the bundle of clothes Ganondorf held.

Ganondorf gave a nod, sitting on one of the stools so he could look the clothes over.

The largest one he handed to Sidon and the ones that weren’t small but not as large as Sidon’s were handed to Bazz and Mipha.

After handing the other two sets of clothes to Link and Zelda, the group split up to find places to change in privacy.

Ganondorf scratched at his arms and chest, the clothes soft but not something he was used to. He kept his cloak over his new clothes as an added layer of protection from the wind.

It didn’t take long for the others to return with their own warm clothes on.

The Zora looked the strangest, wearing clothes that they weren’t used to. It was a necessary evil though to protect them from freezing in the snows of Tabantha or Hebra.

“These are quite soft, I admit,” Sidon murmured, running his hand down the sleeves of his shirt. “It must be made from the wool of highland sheep.”

“And the feathers of Rito,” Mipha said. “I heard their feathers are water and cold resistant.”

 **Soft like a pillow,** Link signed, appearing comfortable with his new clothes.

Ganondorf looked at the map, remembering what Hylia had said about the labyrinth. He searched the northern snowfield area then spotted a strange picture.

“Did you find it?” Zelda asked when she noticed Ganondorf’s eyes widen.

Ganondorf laid the map on a stool, pointing to the zig-zag structure marked on the map. “That look like a labyrinth to you?”

"It does,” Bazz said. “I wonder why no one has questioned it.”

“I bet people have gone to the labyrinth but were turned away by the cold,” Sidon suggested.

“Or something else,” Mipha said. “This is for you three. Perhaps those deemed unworthy were turned away.”

“That’s far away,” Zelda sighed, measuring the distance from their position to the labyrinth with her finger. “A day at least.”

Ganondorf tapped a stable that sat in the southern Tabantha Snowfield. “We’ll stop here for the night. In the morning we’ll travel to the labyrinth.”

 **How long will it take?** Link asked.

“If we go at a constant pace, perhaps seven hours.”

“We’d best be going then,” Bazz said. “If we wish to avoid nightfall and the Stal monsters showing up.”

Ganondorf nodded, rolling up the map. “Let’s get going then.”

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Taking the road that arched around the back of Tanagar Canyon, the group easily passed from Rowan Plain into south Tabantha Snowfield. The landscape changed from grassy to rocky to snow covered instantaneously, the air changing from mild and cool to freezing and nipping quickly. Their warm clothes kept the wintry weather at bay, making then feel cozy despite the temperature drop.

Sidon gave a shuddering shiver, breath puffing in the air. “Chilly…”

“Are the clothes not working for you?” Zelda asked, glancing at the Zora in concern.

“Oh, no.” Sidon waved a hand, a blue coating his cheeks. “They’re working just fine. But even with these on, it’s still a bit chilly.”

“It’s bearable,” Mipha said. “I imagine it would be worse without these clothes on.”

“We’ll be at the stable in a half hour,” Ganondorf mumbled, Helltrotter snorting at the snow falling from the cloudy sky. “It will be warmer there.”

He and Helltrotter were built for the heat of the desert, not the cold of winter.

Helltrotter seemed to agree with him, glaring down at the white he was walking on.

The snowfield stable soon loomed into their view and the group sighed as they caught sight of it.

A few travelers gawked at the sight of the Zora braving the cold, murmuring amongst themselves as the others slid down from their horses.

As Link went to gather ingredients to make dinner, Zelda approached the stable owner to request six beds.

“Are you Zora?” a male asked, squinting at the three Zora. “Really?”

Sidon nodded. “We are indeed Zora, my friend!”

“Will wonders never cease…thinking yourself Ice Zora, do you now?”

“Ice Zora?” Ganondorf asked. “I’ve heard of Lake, Sea, and River Zora but not Ice Zora.”

“They’re not like your Zora friends here,” one man sniffed, wrinkling his nose. “They’re monsters.”

“They lurk beneath any frozen surface in Hebra,” another traveler said. “They snatch up anything stupid enough to walk on it.”

Ganondorf looked at Mipha who nodded, staring at the ground.

“Father mentioned them once,” she said. “They’re rarely seen and we can’t survive freezing water temperatures so we haven’t been able to make any diplomacy with them.”

“Are they as violent as they’re rumored to be?”

“I’m not sure.”

Ganondorf gave a hum. He made a mental note to avoid frozen lakes.

While waiting for Link to finish dinner, the group sat around a nearby fire, the warmth from the crackling flames keeping the cold away.

After a few minutes, Link came over to them with plates of spicy poultry pilaf.

 **Keep cold away,** he signed after handing the last plate to Zelda. **Added spicy pepper to make cold resistance.**

Ganondorf wasn’t sure if Link adjusting a recipe meant the food was good or not. He took a small bite to test it. The warmth of the food spread throughout his entire body after hitting his stomach.

“This is amazing,” Zelda murmured.

“It’s making my insides all warm,” Bazz said. “How fascinating.”

Link smiled, pleased that his experiment had worked out, and sat with the rest of the group to eat as well.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------

After a good night’s rest in the warm stable, the group left early the next morning as the sun’s early light glinted off the snow covering the ground.

“Be careful of the blizzards!” the stable owner called after them. “They’ve been more frequent lately!”

“Thank you!” Zelda replied, waving at the owner. “We’ll be careful!”

“Who the heck brings Zora into Tabantha?” a traveler mumbled, watching the strange group leave.

“Idiots,” another traveler said.

The Zora stuck close to the horses as they looked around while they walked.

Tabantha moose watched the group from a distance as they grazed and wooly rhinoceros snorted, daring them to come closer.

Zelda smiled at the animals. She had only seen them in books and the books didn’t do them justice.

Snowcoat foxes yipped at the sight of the group before scampering off. Cold-footed wolves watched from a distance, but didn’t try to attack the group, wary of Helltrotter.

As they walked, the snow that was gradually falling thickened until it blinded their vision.

Ganondorf grunted as he put up a hand in front of his face to block the snow when it began to blow towards them as the wind picked up.

“Okay, everyone needs to hold onto each other so we don’t get lost in the blizzard!”

Zelda reached up to hold onto Helltrotter’s reins while Bazz gripped Mipha’s hand in one hand and held onto Bluebell’s reins with the other.

“We should find shelter!” Zelda called above the howling wind, ducking her head so the snow would stop biting her face.

Ganondorf nodded, squinting against the snow as he searched for something they could hunker down in until the blizzard passed. He spotted the skull-shaped cave and steered everyone towards it.

If they had to clear out a few monsters to have something out of the snow and wind so be it.

The monster den was empty though and Ganondorf wondered if the monsters became tired of the blizzards and had abandoned it.

Zelda shivered as she slid down from Bluebell, shaking the accumulated snow off her arms. “That was fun.”

“When he said blizzards, I hadn’t expected one so soon,” Ganondorf mumbled.

The horses shook themselves off, glad to be out of the wind.

Bazz stared outside at the snow whipping past. “I don’t think this is going to lighten up anytime soon.”

“Then I guess we’ll stay here until it subsides,” Ganondorf said, spotting an old pile of wood near the center of the den.

After testing it to make sure it was dry, Ganondorf lit the wood with a small flame from his finger.

“Wait,” Mipha said, looking around. “Where are Sidon and Link?”

The rest looked around the den, noticing that they were missing a horse, a Hylian and a Zora.

“He got lost in the blizzard?” Ganondorf muttered.

Zelda gasped, moving forward. “We have to find them!”

Ganondorf grabbed her arm. “Are you crazy? We’ll only get ourselves lost searching for them.”

“We can’t just leave them out there!”

“Link will know what to do. He’s probably already found shelter for them.” Zelda frowned before she nodded, looking back out into the blizzard.

“We’ll wait until the blizzard dies down,” Bazz said. “Then we’ll search for them.”

“How long will that take?” Mipha asked, looking at Bazz then Ganondorf.

Ganondorf hummed as he sat down by the fire. “Well, I remember sandstorms could last for hours or even days. I imagine it’s the same concept for blizzards.”

“We can’t wait for days though,” Zelda said.

“There’s nothing else to do,” Ganondorf sighed. “We’ll risk exposure or death if we go back out into that.”

“Link seems well-traveled,” Bazz offered. “I’m sure he and Sidon are waiting for the blizzard to stop as well.”

Mipha frowned then nodded, glancing back out at the swirling snow before sitting by the fire to keep warm.

Bazz settled himself beside her while Zelda sat close to Ganondorf.

\-----------------------------------------------------------

Link knocked on the door before opening it slowly, poking his head inside. He didn’t see anyone and opened the door for Sidon.

“Are you certain we should intrude upon someone else’s home like this?” Sidon asked, ducking under the doorway so he could enter.

Link ran his fingers across the top of a bookshelf and showed the dust to Sidon.

“Ah. Abandoned.” Sidon glanced around the small house which contained a small kitchenette, a single bed, and a fireplace. “Well, at least this will keep us safe from the weather outside.”

Link stared out the window to make sure that Epona was all right.

There was a small stable outside for her to be mostly sheltered from the weather, but she still didn’t appear happy.

“I hope the others have found shelter as well,” Sidon murmured, glancing towards the window.

 **I’m sure they have,** Link replied, heading to the kitchen to search the cupboards for anything to eat.

They were empty, probably cleaned out by the previous owner or thieves.

Link went over to the fireplace, taking a few logs from the stack beside it and tossing them in. taking out the Master Sword and a piece of flint left on the mantle, Link started a fire.

As Link rummaged through his bag, Sidon sat close to the fire, holding his hands out to warm them.

Link held out a piece of Chuchu jelly and Sidon snorted.

“Do you have anything else besides that?”

Frowning, Link went back to looking though his pack and pulled out a few wildberries he had pilfered from snowfield stable. He shrugged.

**All I got.**

“Those will do.” Sidon took a few of the offered wildberries, popping them into his mouth,

They were juicy and sweet.

Sidon watched Link attempted to tear off a piece of Chuchu jelly, amused at the Hylian’s struggles.

“Does Chuchu jelly taste any good?”

Link shrugged, holding the jelly between his teeth so he could sign **Taste like palm fruit.**

“Ah.” Sidon had never tasted palm fruit so he wasn’t sure if it was good or not. It must have been to Link judging by the way he was eating the tough jelly without any trouble.

“What made you even try Chuchu jelly in the first place, my friend?”

**Curiosity.**

Curiosity? Really?

“Curiosity killed the cat, you know.”

**Hasn’t killed me yet.**

“My friend, your stomach must be made of iron.”

Link grinned as he finished off the last chunk of Chuchu jelly then ate the last few wildberries. He wiped off his hands then settled into a more comfortable position.

“How long do you think we have to stay here?”

**Maybe a few hours, if we’re lucky.**

“I see…”

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ganondorf wasn’t even aware of when he had fallen asleep, but he awoke with a start, straightening and looking around.

Zelda was leaning against him, still asleep, with his jacket around her shoulders.

He must have put it around her before he had fallen asleep.

Nearby, Mipha was asleep as well, laying halfway across Bazz’s lap.

Bazz himself appeared nervous, sitting ramrod straight, arms out of the way so he wouldn’t accidentally wake her.

“Comfortable?” Ganondorf asked with a grin at the stiff Zora.

“Yes,” Bazz said tightly, glancing down at Mipha before stiffening even more when she shifted in her sleep.

Ganondorf looked toward the den’s entrance, noticing that a thin layer of snow was falling.

“Looks like the blizzard has passed. We should get out while we can.” Ganondorf shook Zelda to get her awake. “Rise and shine. Blizzard’s done.”

“How long have I been asleep?” Zelda mumbled, rubbing her eyes before stretching her arms above her head.

Ganondorf took the opportunity to take his jacket back and stand up. “Not sure. Maybe an hour or so.”

“That’s not too bad.”

Just as Bazz was about to wake Mipha up, she sat up and rubbed her eyes.

“What time is it?”

“Judging by the sun’s position, just past two in the afternoon.”

“How long will it take to reach the maze?” Zelda asked as she stood up, stretching again to get her legs awake.

“Three hours at most.” Bazz stood up after Mipha, glad to have freedom for his legs. Not that he was going to complain about Mipha using him as a pillow.

The four left the den and Ganondorf got up into Helltrotter’s saddle.

“What about Link and Sidon?” Mipha asked.

“They know where the maze is,” Ganondorf said. “We may meet them there or on the way.”

They headed north and as they drew closer to the area where the maze was, Bazz spotted a red figure walking towards them with a horse by their side.

He pointed. “There they are!”

Zelda stopped Bluebell at Bazz’s exclamation, gasping when she saw Link and Sidon heading in their direction. “Link!”

Link waved, grinning at the others.

“Are you all right?” Mipha asked when Sidon approached, reaching up her hands.

Sidon leaned down and the two headbutted gently, headtails waving.

“Where were you two?” Ganondorf asked, glancing at Link.

Link pointed in the direction they had come from. **Cabin.**

“You took someone’s house?” Zelda gasped.

Link shook his head. **Abandoned.**

Ganondorf gave a nod. “Ah. Well, at least you two were sheltered.”

**What about you guys?**

“We found a monster den that was empty,” Zelda said. “It was warm enough for shelter.”

Sidon smiled a bit as he straightened. “Are we close to the maze?”

Ganondorf nodded. “Not too far.”

Together they all headed toward the maze that sat secluded in the topmost corner of Tabantha. The walls of the labyrinth were massive, nearly as tall as a mountain, and they all had to look up in order to see the top.

“I didn’t expect it to be so enormous,” Zelda murmured, staring at the carvings on the walls.

“People _built_ this?” Mipha asked in amazement.

“The Zonai?” Ganondorf suggested, spotting what appeared to be the head of an owl carved into the stone.

“It must have taken ages to build,” Sidon murmured, peering into the maze.

A wind picked up from within the maze, causing the group to shield their eyes from the biting wind. Something shot out of the maze’s depths, hovering briefly above the group before landing on the outermost edge of the maze, claws gripping the rock.

Zelda gasped as she gazed up at the enormous white owl that stared down at them impassively.

The owl appeared to be similar to a barn owl with three pairs of gold eyes and blue swirling marks covering its feathers, pulsing with an inner life.

Ganondorf stared at the owl, not sure if it was an enemy or not.

So far it hadn’t attacked them so he assumed it was friendly.

“Zelda,” he whispered, not breaking eye contact with the owl. “Do you know what this owl is?”

“I think…it’s Sova.”

"The Zonai goddess of wisdom? I thought the Zonai just used animals to _represent_ the Triforce, not that their gods were actually real!”

“Obviously we were wrong."

Sova opened her wings. “Greetings, children of the Golden Three! I am Sova, the owl goddess of wisdom worshipped by the ancient Zonai. The labyrinth that stands before you will test the depths of your insight.”

Sova held out a foot, claws spread.

“Hand me the scale of the frozen dragon of frost.”

Ganondorf glanced at the others before he reached into his coat, pulling out Naydra’s scale and setting it on Sova’s outstretched foot.

Sova stared at the scale critically to make sure it was real before she tossed it into the depths of the maze.

A light beam shot up before the labyrinth rumbled then fell still.

Sova spread a wing towards the maze’s entrance. “Proceed onward into the maze and claim your prize that awaits in its heart.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoy this one. I like it better than the previous chapter xD  
> Comments and kudos are my lifeblood :)


	18. Arc 1: The Maze of Wisdom

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oh look at that a new chapter  
> nanowrimo everyone *throws confetti*

Sova took off, leaving a flurry of wind and snowflakes in her wake.

“Does that mean we get to join you?” Sidon asked, surprised the owl goddess hadn’t forbidden the Zora from entering the maze.

Link grinned and nodded.

“Well, she didn’t say no,” Ganondorf said, glancing at the maze.

Having extra brains would help them.

Leaving the horses just outside the maze, the group entered, glancing around when they came to a few paths split off to either side.

“We should go left,” Zelda said at the same time Ganondorf suggested, “Let’s go to the right.”

The two glanced at each other and Link rolled his eyes.

** Why don’t we do a vote?  ** He said before the two could argue.

“All in favor of going left,” Ganondorf said, “raise your hand.”

Zelda, Mipha and Bazz raised their hands.

“What a predicament,” Sidon murmured. “Split in half.”

** Should we split up then?  ** Link asked, tilting his head.

“Yes,” Zelda said immediately.

Ganondorf gave a heavy sigh. “We don’t know what’s in this maze. Splitting up could be dangerous.”

“He is right,” Bazz said. “There could be monsters.”

“Or guardians of some kind,” Sidon agreed.

“Well, we have to go some way,” Zelda said in frustration, putting her hands on her hips. “What do you suggest we do then, Gan?”

Before Ganondorf could give his answer, the ground rumbled.

The walls suddenly shifted, sliding to the side to change positions, cutting the group in half.

Ganondorf pulled Link and Sidon back to avoid the walls sliding towards them.

After a few seconds, everything fell silent.

“What was that?” Sidon asked, looking at the hallway they now stood in.

“The maze….changed shape…” Ganondorf murmured, staring up at the high walls surrounding them.

** What about the others?  ** Link asked.

“Ah….Zelda!” Ganondorf called, cupping his hands around his mouth so he could be heard better. “Are you guys all right?!”

“Y-yeah, we’re fine!” Zelda replied. “Just startled. What happened?”

“Looks like this is the test!” Ganondorf pushed on the walls to test their strength, finding them immovable. “The walls will shift every few minutes, I imagine, as we go through the maze!”

“How do we find the center then?” Bazz asked, glancing at Zelda. “If the walls create a new route every few minutes, we’ll be wandering forever.”

“We keep going,” Zelda said before calling to Ganondorf, “We’ll meet at the center! Be careful!”

”You too!” Ganondorf sighed, shaking his head as he dropped his arms. “Okay, let’s get moving.”

Sidon and Link nodded, following after Ganondorf as he walked forward.

When a fork in the road came up, Ganondorf went left.

“Why are we going this way?” Sidon asked, glancing back at the other path.

“We’re trying to reach the center so the easiest way is to go up.”

Sidon glanced at Link who shrugged.

They kept along the path for a while, turning left or right. So far, they hadn’t run into a dead end.

The ground rumbled and Ganondorf paused, looking at the walls.

“Are they moving again?” Sidon asked, glancing at the walls anxiously.

“It’s too soon,” Ganondorf murmured.

Link stared at the ground before withdrawing his sword.

Ganondorf heard the blade being drawn and grabbed his own swords.

The snow burst up in front of them, revealing the black head of a centipede, jaws snapping open and closed.

“A centipede monster. Just great.”

**A Moldorm,** Link said, staring at the monster warily as it sized them up.

The Moldorm suddenly twisted behind it and dove back into the ground, burrowing away.

Sidon blinked at the retreating monster. “Did we scare it away?”

“I highly doubt it.”

** We can’t even warn the others,  ** Link sighed, frowning at where the monster had gone.

“They can handle themselves,” Ganondorf mumbled, sheathing his swords as he walked forward. “We need to keep moving in case it comes back.”

Sidon nodded, following after Ganondorf.

Just as Link trailed after the Zora, the walls grumbled and began to shift once more.

“They’re moving again!” Sidon said.

Ganondorf could _see_ that and he took advantage to slip between a few openings in the walls. “Follow me!”

Link and Sidon tried to follow after the redhead, but the moving walls separated them to different sides, blocking them from Ganondorf.

As the walls settled again, Ganondorf glanced around to see that Sidon and Link were nowhere to be seen.

“Hey! Where did you guys go?!”

The walls must have separated them.

_ So much for going in groups,  _ Ganondorf thought as he moved forward, deciding it best to not stay in one spot.

They would be fine. He knew they could handle themselves.

The Moldorm emerged from the ground in front of Ganondorf with a shriek, jaws open wide as it lunged.

Ganondorf quickly drew his swords, using them to block the beast’s attack.

As the two struggled to overpower each other, Ganondorf twisted his swords to the side sharply, sending the Moldorm crashing into the nearest wall.

The Moldorm gave a whining squeal as it shook its head before screeching at Ganondorf, lunging over him to dive into the ground behind the redhead.

Ganondorf watched the Moldorm disappear beneath the ground and sighed, relaxing his stance.

“Doesn’t that power feel good?”

Ganondorf quickly raised his swords, narrowing his eyes when a shadowy form appeared several feet away from him.

The figure had golden eyes with slit pupils. Its form appeared similar to Ganondorf.

_ A trick?  _ Ganondorf wondered as he watched the shade warily. _Is this a test of the maze?_

“Don’t deny the power that thrums within you. You need it if you’re to help your friends.”

Ganondorf didn’t answer. It was a trick by the Malice, perhaps. Tempting him into giving into its wishes.

“You’re too weak on your own, Ganondorf. You always have been. That’s why dominion is your only option. Everyone will take you seriously with power on your side.” The shade held out a hand. “What do you say? Absolute power is nearly within your grasp.”

Ganondorf grit his teeth, gripping the handles of his swords in both hands tighter. “Give into absolute power at the cost of losing my mind? I don’t think that’s much of a fair trade.”

The shade’s eyes widened as Ganondorf crouched down slightly.

“I have power, but it’s the power of my friends that give me strength. And the belief that they’re strong enough even without me to handle whatever life throws at them!”

With a fierce roar, Ganondorf launched himself at the shade, driving his blades through it then swiping them to the side to slice it in half.

The shade wavered then dissipated.

Ganondorf sighed as he straightened, sheathing his blades. He turned down another hallway.

Mipha glanced around nervously as she turned down another hallway.

One minute she had been walking with Zelda and Bazz and before she knew it, she had been alone. The shifting walls had separated them.

What made matters even worse was the monster that lurked beneath the maze.

As if being summoned, the Moldorm emerged from the ground behind Mipha, lunging at her.

She ducked under the attack then swiped out with her trident, slicing off a few of its legs.

The Moldorm screeched, wriggling back into the ground and scurrying off.

Mipha turned around a few times to make sure it wouldn’t return.

When it didn’t come back up, Mipha continued to walk, searching for a route that she could follow.

“Mipha…”

At the familiar voice, Mipha perked up, turning to see Bazz standing several feet away. “Bazz!”

She ran towards the black Zora, but as she got closer, she saw that something about him was off.  He wasn’t solid, but ethereal and translucent with green ghostly flames surrounding him. She could see what appeared to be injuries covering his bare chest and neck, leaking green fluid.

Mipha slowed to a stop several feet away from Bazz, staring at him nervously.

“Bazz…?”

That was Bazz, right?

“I gave up my life for you. You should be more grateful. I did my duty; unto death, all for the crown!”

Mipha took a step back, gripping her trident tighter.

That wasn’t Bazz.

_ An illusion?  _ She wondered.

How did she make it go away?

“Don’t back away from me, Princess! This is what you wanted, isn’t it? The captain of the guard giving up his life for the future of the Zorana family!”

His words burned and ached like a bee sting.

She didn’t want Bazz to give up his life to protect her, to throw his life away like he didn’t matter. He did matter.

“I don’t want you to believe that your life is insignificant,” Mipha murmured softly, staring at the ghost Bazz evenly. “That you were just brought into this world to throw your life away at a command. I want you to live for yourself, not because you have a duty as the guard captain. Your life and your actions and your thoughts are your own. Not mine or anyone else’s.”

Bazz blinked, head tilted slightly before he vanished.

Mipha glanced around, searching for any sign of him, before she sighed.

Link kicked at a pebble as he walked, searching for another hallway he could go down.

He hated the Moldorm and he hated the maze. It was all stupid.

Link was halted in his thoughts as the Moldorm burst up from the ground in front of him. He ducked to the side when it lunged, thrusting out his sword and managing to pierce a hole through its thick exoskeleton.

The Moldorm shrieked and lashed out, forked tail catching Link in the chest and slamming him into a wall.

As Link rubbed his back from the blow, slowly standing up, the Moldorm returned beneath the ground.

He stuck his tongue out after it.

When the walls shifted again, Link slipped between as many as he could, trying to get to the maze’s center. As he passed through the last wall, Link came face to face with a skeleton donned in full armor.

Link jumped back, hitting the wall behind him.

The skeleton watched him with a single red eye.

As Link stared, he realized he recognized the skeleton from a different era.

** Hero’s Shade?  ** He asked, relaxing his stance a bit.

What was he doing there? Hadn’t he moved on?

“You are not strong. Not like your past selves.”

Link’s eyes widened at the Hero’s Shade’s statement.

“You’re no hero. You’re just a farm boy wielding a fancy toy.”

Link scowled, withdrawing the Master Sword.

The blade gleamed brightly as Link brandished it at the Hero’s Shade.

“You will not defeat me in a battle. You don’t have the courage.”

Link lunged at the Hero’s Shade.

His strike was blocked and Link was pushed backward easily. Link caught his balance quickly, lunging at the Hero’s Shade once again.

The Hero’s Shade remained still as he deflected each of Link’s strikes but did not return them.

After a few minutes of this, Link began to tire and stumbled backward, breathing heavily.

“I told you. You are not strong enough. You’ll never be able to defend Hyrule.”

Link grit his teeth then glanced down at the Master Sword. He sheathed it, scowling at the Hero’s Shade.

** You may not think I’m worthy, but the Master Sword does. If I wasn’t worthy, it wouldn’t have allowed me to pull it from the pedestal. The Master Sword believes in me. So do my friends. **

“Heroes do not need friends.”

** Yes, we do. They lend us strength when we don’t have anymore. I’m not strong on my own, but with my friends by my side, we’re a force to be reckoned with. **

The Hero’s Shade remained silent before he appeared to smile, sheathing his blade.

“Good answer,” he murmured before disappearing.

Link glanced around, wondering where the spirit had gone to.

Bazz turned down a hallway, searching for signs of the others.

He had to find them. That monster could pop up at any moment.

As he turned another corner, the Moldorm reemerged from the ground and charged at Bazz.

Bazz leaped over the attack, landing on the Moldorm’s head then ran along its segmented body to avoid being thrown off as it kept moving. He jumped off when a hallway came into view, turning and stabbing one of its many legs.

The Moldorm shrieked as it disappeared.

Bazz turned in a circle, spear raised, as he searched for wherever the monster would be likely to reemerge. As he made another rotation, Bazz halted when he saw Mipha standing several feet away.

Something about her set his scales on edge, his headfin prickling.

Mipha smiled, tilting her head to the side. “You weren’t strong enough to protect me, Bazz. Because of you, I’m dead.”

Bazz had no time to raise his spear to defend himself as the strange not-Mipha charged at him, phasing though him.

“How dare you call yourself Demon Sergeant Seggin’s son! You’re no better than a newborn tadpole!”

Bazz turned in a circle, searching for the specter, but could only hear her voice.

“You’ll never be strong enough to do your job. You couldn’t even protect me like you said you would!”

Bazz grit his teeth before shaking his head. “You’re an illusion…”

Right?

Bazz took off at a run to find Mipha.

Sidon felt like he was going in circles.

With the walls shifting to a new position every few minutes, he couldn’t tell where he had gone and where he had been.

“This is going nowhere…” he sighed.

Perhaps he should attempt to scale the walls. But that would just cause unnecessary injury.

As he was debating on what he could do, the Moldorm rushed out from a corner.

Sidon sensed its movement and pressed himself against a nearby wall as it passed. He pierced its eye with his spear and it shrieked, turning down another hall and disappearing.

The Moldorm didn’t help with anything.

Setting his spear back across his shoulders, Sidon resumed walking only to stop when he nearly ran into someone.

“F-father?” he asked, gaping up at Dorephan.

How had his father gotten into the maze?

“I’m disappointed in you, Sidon,” Dorephan rumbled. “Your wanderlust has caused grief for our people.”

“Wh-what—”

“Because you were not in the Domain, Mipha was killed. Your absence has cost us our jewel. Your people need you now, Sidon, and you cannot be free any longer.”

Sidon took a step back, headtail flicking.

He just wanted to go on an adventure. See the world and all it had to offer. He hadn’t meant for anyone to get hurt.

“You need to return home now. And you are not allowed outside the Domain ever again.”

As Dorephan held out his hand, Sidon was about to lift his own hand when a small blur launched itself at Dorephan, gleaming blade tearing through him.

Dorephan disappeared in a scattering of blue flames and Sidon blinked to see Link standing, sheathing the Master Sword.

“L-Link? My friend, what—”

**That was an illusion!** Link signed at Sidon. **The maze feeds off our fears. We need to find the others.**

An illusion? That sort of made sense.

Sidon nodded and followed after Link.

Zelda sighed as she turned down another dead end.

How long had she been at it? It felt like days.

“I wonder if I’m close to the center,” Zelda mumbled to herself as she went down a hallway.

This maze was exhausting and she was hungry. She hoped the others were doing all right.

“Zelda Adeena Hyrule!”

Zelda froze at the sharp tone, glancing behind her to see Rhoam standing several feet away.

“What do you think you’re playing at? You’re a princess. You’re not meant to be outside the castle walls, playing at some sort of hero. You aren’t even capable of defending yourself in battle; you need others to fight for you.”

Zelda took a few steps back at her father’s words.

“You’re completely useless. A damsel in distress!”

“I-I can fight…!” Zelda shook her head, tears pricking at the corners of her eyes. “I’m doing everything I can…”

"You haven’t even tapped into your power. You aren’t meant to wield the Triforce. You bring shame to the Zelda name and all you’ll be is the heir to a throne of nothing but failure.”

Zelda gripped her hands tightly, pressing them against her chest as she choked back tears.

The words stung and burned like a hot iron, but they were true.

“Zelda!”

Zelda glanced behind her to see Ganondorf running towards her.

“It’s not real, Zelda! It’s an illusion!”

An illusion?

Zelda looked back at Rhoam. Before she could do anything, Ganondorf rushed past her, driving his sword through Rhoam’s chest.

Seconds after Rhoam vanished, the Moldorm reared up from the ground with a shriek, Ganondorf’s sword driven through its head.

_ The Moldorm!  _ Zelda thought.

It had been creating the illusions.

Ganondorf kept a tight hold on his sword as the Moldorm thrashed around, body slamming into the walls.

Zelda threw a few of her knives at the Moldorm, the tips piercing its exoskeleton.

“Zelda!” Mipha called when she saw the blonde and then the Moldorm still trying to dislodge Ganondorf. She ran at the Moldorm and leaped up, driving her trident into the monster’s head.

The Moldorm screeched and shook its head to try and shove off the two.

Link grabbed Zelda’s arm to show her he was there. **Are you okay?**

Zelda nodded. “Yes. We need to beat the Moldorm!”

Sidon flashed a grin. “Of course! All of us will be able to dispatch it easily.”

The two ran at the Moldorm with their weapons drawn.

“Mipha!” Bazz called when he saw Mipha on the Moldorm’s head.

Mipha glanced down to see Bazz running towards the Moldorm.

Zelda summoned a Light Arrow to her hand. She gripped it tightly, steeling herself before she charged at the Moldorm and leaped up.

Ganondorf and Mipha both yanked their weapons out seconds before Zelda sank the Light Arrow into the Moldorm’s head.

The Moldorm shrieked, writhing at the arrow’s bite, before dropping to the ground.

It disappeared in a cloud of black dust.

Link sighed. **That was easy.**

“It was,” Sidon laughed. “I hope that’s the only one.”

“Don’t jinx it,” Ganondorf grunted. “I’m already sick of this maze.”

“Do we even know if we’re near the center?” Mipha asked, glancing around them.

“I think so,” Zelda murmured, heading down a hallway. “This way.”

Ganondorf followed after her with the others close behind.

Bazz glanced at Mipha but said nothing. He wanted to touch her to make sure she was real but resisted.

After a few minutes of following Zelda, the group came to a small pedestal where a dull bow rested.

“A bow?” Ganondorf asked. “That’s it? We did all this for a stupid _bow_?”

“It’s not just any bow,” Zelda said, picking the bow up. “It’s the Light Bow.”

“Light Bow?” Mipha asked.

“It’s a complement to my Light Arrows,” Zelda said. “But…something seems off. It doesn’t look the same.”

Ganondorf touched the bow then pulled back, staring at his hand. “Hm…it’s lost its power. No burning.”

** What do we do to restore its power?  ** Link asked.

Zelda sighed, shaking her head as the bow vanished. “Not sure. We’ll figure it out eventually I’m sure.”

“I bet the Deku Tree would know,” Ganondorf said. “We should visit him when we get the chance.”

Zelda nodded.

If they passed the Korok Forest again, she supposed it couldn’t hurt.

“Are we done with the maze?” Bazz asked.

“I believe so,” Ganondorf said.

** Let’s go back to the stable,  ** Link suggested. **I’m starving.**

“That’s an excellent plan!” Sidon said.

“I am hungry as well,” Zelda murmured.

As the group left the maze, Ganondorf glanced back at its imposing walls.

He wondered what the other two mazes were like. Hopefully they weren’t as difficult as this one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for any errors xD I hope you enjoy  
> Comments and kudos are my lifeblood :)  
> Don't worry; temple time soon xD


	19. Arc 1: Wily Bird

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the next chapter xD  
> The Rito chapter gets into some shit man

After a hearty meal and a good night’s rest at snowfield stable, the group made their way towards Rito Village to search for the next temple.

“Are we sure that the temple is even in Hebra?” Sidon asked as they walked through Tabantha Hills.

The snow had quickly changed to grass and the air temperature raised to a bearable level. As a result, the Zora had shed their warm clothes.

“We haven’t seen Astrid for a while,” Zelda murmured, looking at Ganondorf. “I’m concerned.”

“She could just not like the cold,” Bazz suggested.

“Can Koroks withstand a variety of temperatures?” Mipha asked, tapping her chin.

“Of course we can!” Astrid giggled, appearing on top of Ganondorf’s head.

“There you are!” Zelda sighed.

“And where have you been, young lady?” Ganondorf grunted, tilting his head back a bit.

Astrid leaned forward so she could bap Ganondorf’s nose. “Searching for the temple!”

 **Did you find it?** Link asked.

Astrid pointed in the direction they were going. “Somewhere past Rito Village!”

“Do you have a more accurate location?” Sidon asked.

“No.” Astrid shook her head, dropping down to Ganondorf’s lap dramatically. “Something’s blocking the location.”

Ganondorf hummed. “I see. Then we’ll ask the Rito. They may know something.”

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Just outside the bridges winding up towards Rito Village was a stable.

The group left their horses in the stable’s care and asked a wandering merchant about their wares.

Link stocked up on a few arrows as did Sidon with his new Lynel bow.

The merchant gaped at the bow Sidon held, shocked that a Zora would take on a Lynel.

They also bought some food that would be able to stand sometime in the cold.

As they packed up their supplies and got ready to renter Rito Village, a heavyset Rito with blue feathers approached them.

“What a motley crew. Three Zora and two Hylians and a…” He looked at Ganondorf, tapping a feather to his beak with a smile. “Hmm.”

Ganondorf narrowed his eyes at the Rito.

“Pardon my manners. My name is Kass. I’m a traveling musician.”

Zelda smiled. “Oh! That sounds fun. Do you live in Rito Village?”

“I visit often. My mate and five chicks live there, however. Perhaps you’ll run into them.”

“What kind of songs do you sing?” Sidon asked, noticing an accordion strapped to Kass’s back.

“My teacher’s songs. A lot of them are ancient, ones he came up with through research of old prophecies and the like.” Kass pulled his accordion from his back. “Would you like to hear the song my teacher passed to me about this region?”

Zelda clapped her hands together. “That would be amazing!”

"Yay, song!” Astrid laughed, clapping her hands.

Ganondorf sighed at the others who appeared to be interested in Kass’s song. He supposed it couldn’t hurt. It wouldn’t take that long.

Kass smiled and began to press the keys along the side of his accordion, pulling it out then pushing it back to create a low, mournful tune.

“With twin blades of destruction, the once god will take the instruction, of the wily bird who claims false heroism. Jealousy and envy clouds his judgement and his actions will cause ostracism. Taken beneath the arctic crust, the once god will adjust to the ice dweller’s frigid home, with a mask from an ancient king’s tomb.”

Ganondorf frowned. He wasn’t sure what the song was talking about, but the twin blades…

He glanced at the swords at his hip.

It couldn’t be coincidence.

Kass hummed as he slowed his accordion to a stop. “I’ve had this song since I was a teenager, but I can’t make sense of it. There are not many places that are frozen over in Hebra. And what’s this about a mask? How can such a thing help one adjust to subzero temperatures?”

The back of Link’s neck prickled at the words, something like a submerged memory trying to claw its way to the forefront of his mind. He shook his head to clear it.

“Thank you for sharing the song,” Zelda said with a smile at Kass.

“Oh, it was my pleasure. May the light illuminate your path.”

After strapping the accordion to his back once more, Kass gave a bow to the group before walking off.

Zelda glanced at Ganondorf. “Gan? About that song—”

“It’s just a song,” Ganondorf muttered as he began to head toward Rito Village. “I don’t believe in pre-ordained stuff like that.”

 **It sure sounded like it was talking about you though,** Link protested, jogging to catch up to Ganondorf and pointing at his swords.

“Just because I have two swords means nothing. Anyone could have two swords!”

“But the ‘once god’ words,” Zelda started.

A sharp look from Ganondorf made the rest of the words die in her throat.

“I was never a god,” Ganondorf mumbled quietly. “I was just a monster playing at being something I wasn’t.”

Zelda looked at Link who shook his head with a look that told her to drop the subject.

Sidon didn’t understand any of what the Hylians were talking about, but then again none of the Zora did.

They knew little about the relationship between the three and even seeing Hylia with her own backstory to tell further confused them.

 _Perhaps we aren’t meant to understand,_ Sidon decided.

Along the route to the village’s entrance were a few Rito guards wielding feathered spears. They gave cursory glances at the strange group but otherwise remained quiet.

The village itself was pretty small, winding up the rock that sat in the middle of Lake Totori, with a few rooms and landings for the Rito to fly from.

As they came up the last step to the village, a Rito with purple feathers and braids in his hair dropped down in front of them.

He eyed them critically before giving a huff. “Let’s see here…three Zora and three….no, two Hylians...how strange.”

The Rito stared at Ganondorf a bit longer than necessary, rubbing his chin before flapping a wing.

“Ah, pardon me. My name is Revali. I’m the hero of Rito Village and it’s my duty to see who enters and leaves.”

“Hero?” Zelda muttered to herself.

Ganondorf stared at Revali. He didn’t like the Rito one bit. Something about his high and mighty nature made him feel on edge.

“Ah, you’ve protected your village well to be declared a hero amongst your people, hero Revali!” Sidon said, flashing a grin at the Rito.

Revali hmphed, crossing his arms as he looked away. “Please, I’ve done more than that just by being born.”

Link tilted his head before asking **What?**

“Don’t ask or he’ll tell us,” Ganondorf mumbled, elbowing Link in the ribs.

Revali scowled at Ganondorf before raising a wing. “I am the one chosen by Hylia! Born with the Triforce, I am to defeat the beast that will prowl the lands soon enough.”

He gave a look at Ganondorf at the last sentence and Ganondorf scowled back at him.

It was like the Rito knew who he was and it was possible if he had studied the lore.

Link looked like he was about to sign something but Ganondorf grabbed his wrist, pulling him away from Revali.

“Don’t talk to the crazy bird, Link. He’s obviously insane.”

Or stupid. Probably both.

Revali leaped in front of the group, fluffing up in anger at being ignored and not admired. “How dare you! I’ll prove to you that I’m the chosen one; look!”

Revali showed off his right wing and on his feathers was the Triforce.

Zelda narrowed her eyes at the mark, puzzled. Was that really….? No, it couldn’t be.

Ganondorf rolled his eyes.

The feathers were coincidentally arranged in a triangular shape. They had quite possibly been white but had been dyed yellow.

“The chosen one has always been a Hylian though from what I know of the stories,” Mipha said.

“Well, perhaps Hylia got tired of having a Hylian hero and finally chose a master of the sky as her champion.”

Zelda highly doubted that but she remained quiet on the subject. Instead she asked, “Can we speak to your chief? We need to ask him some questions.”

Revali side-eyed Zelda before he smiled. “Of course! Kaneli loves visitors. I’ll show you to his nest.”

As Revali lead the way, Zelda glanced back at Ganondorf and Link.

Both appeared annoyed and she didn’t blame them. Revali was quite pompous, believing himself to be Hylia’s chosen hero.

 _And it seems the village believes him,_ Zelda thought, noticing that several Rito bowed when they saw Revali or greeted him with a ‘good afternoon, hero Revali!’

She wondered if the chief was under the same spell.

Kaneli was in a room at the topmost portion of the village. He was an elderly owl-like Rito with long, gray feathers draping down to the floor like a beard.

He perked up when the group entered, sitting up in his chair.

“Oooh, visitors. Welcome to Rito Village, travelers. I am elder chief Kaneli.”

“Good afternoon, chief Kaneli,” Zelda murmured, giving a bow. “We came to ask questions if that’s all right with you.”

“Of course.” Kaneli looked at Revali. “Revali, would you please allow us some privacy?”

Revali appeared like he was about to protest the suggestion before he gave a stiff nod, turning and leaving.

Kaneli smiled at the group, eyes twinkling. “It’s a pleasure to have the princess of Hyrule in my presence.”

Zelda blinked then smiled, scratching her cheek. “I suppose my disguise can’t fool everyone.”

“May I ask what brings you here, princess?”

“We’ve been looking for temples. Do you know of any temples near your village?”

Kaneli hummed, leaning back as he stroked his chin. “Temples, hrm….if there are any temples, they are buried beneath the snow.”

The group deflated.

Ganondorf figured it wouldn’t be that easy.

“However, you are free to ask around. Perhaps some young Rito have seen something during their flights. I’ll have the Swallow’s Roost hold six beds for you.” Kaneli smiled. “It’s a pleasure to entertain royalty.”

Zelda returned the smile and bowed. “Thank you for your hospitality, chief Kaneli.”

Kaneli inclined his head and watched as the group left, humming to himself as he leaned back, stroking his chin.

“What should we do now?” Bazz asked.

“I suppose we can ask around, like the chief suggested,” Zelda said.

 **I can make some lunch while you guys do that!** Link grinned as he signed.

“I’ll help you,” Sidon said. “I’m sure we can find some rare ingredients here.”

“I’ll ask near the inn,” Mipha murmured. “I’m sure some travelers have heard something during their journeys.”

“I’ll join you,” Bazz said immediately.

Mipha stared at him before looking down, giving a nod. “All right.”

Zelda watched as Sidon left with Link to find ingredients for lunch and Mipha left with Bazz towards the inn. She glanced up at Ganondorf. “Should we split up?”

Ganondorf remained quiet before he shook his head. “No. Why don’t we head towards that landing?”

He pointed towards the deck below them, painted with the Rito symbol. There were five chicks standing near the edge.

Zelda nodded. “That’s a good idea.”

She wasn’t sure if the Rito children would know anything, but perhaps they could point them in the direction of their parents.

As they went down the steps, a small white Rito ran past Ganondorf.

He glanced after the Rito before calling, “Hey, kid!”

The Rito halted, turning and tilting his head at Ganondorf.

“You know anything about a temple?”

“A temple?” The Rito repeated, tilting his head to the other with a hum. “I haven’t seen one, but I bet my dad has! He knows a lot of stuff.”

“Can you show me where he is?”

The Rito nodded eagerly. “He’s at the flight range! I’ll show you; come on!”

With a wave of his wing, the Rito child ran off.

Ganondorf looked at Zelda who smiled.

“It’s all right. I’ll ask the kids here. We’ll get answers faster if we split up.”

Ganondorf nodded and followed the white Rito who was waiting impatiently by the village’s entrance.

“What took you so long? You’re so slow!”

Zelda gave a small laugh at Ganondorf’s disgruntled expression at the child’s sassiness before she headed towards the kids at the landing.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“A temple, huh?” Teba mumbled as he pulled back the bowstring of the bow he was working on.

He shook his head at the feel then resumed tightening the string.

Tulin sat nearby, watching his father work eagerly.

“Never heard of one close to the village. Could be one in the Hebra mountains, though.”

Ganondorf nodded at the suggestion. That was a bit further out than Astrid suggested.

“Thank you for your time, Teba,” Ganondorf murmured, turning to leave.

“Hope you find what you’re looking for, Gerudo.”

Ganondorf halted, whipping his head to stare at Teba who glanced at him out of the corner of his eye.

“What? You thought I wouldn’t recognize that red hair or those gold eyes? Your king may wipe the name from texts and mouths, but I knew Gerudo.”

“You….you did?”

Teba nodded, turning back to adjusting his bow. “I had a few Gerudo friends. Tabantha does border the highlands, after all. I heard about the genocide. I’m sorry about what happened to your people.”

“…Thank you.”

Tulin looked between the two, a bit too young to understand the full meaning of the conversation, before he hopped to his feet. “Will you come back and shoot some arrows?”

“Ah….” Ganondorf rubbed the back of his neck. “I’m not very good at archery. Link is, though. If we have time, I’ll make sure he drops by to show you his bow skills.”

Tulin’s tail wiggled excitedly as he nodded. “Okay!”

 _Cute kid,_ Ganondorf thought as he returned to the village to search for Zelda.

He wondered if she had anything to help them with finding the temple.

It wasn’t too difficult to find Zelda as she was exactly where he had left her.

The five Rito chicks were surrounding her, pestering her with something.

Ganondorf stayed off to the side so he wouldn’t be seen, watching the interaction from a distance.

“Please sing with us, miss Zelda!” the pink chick whined, holding onto Zelda’s hand and tugging it.

“I’m not so sure,” Zelda murmured, appearing nervous at the suggestion. “I’m not a good singer, Notts.”

Notts stomped her foot, crossing her wings. “But we want you to practice with us! Tell her, Kotts!”

The yellow chick appeared startled at being put in the spotlight and shook her head, hiding behind a blue chick with a mumbled, “You do it, Cree.”

Cree sighed, rolling her eyes. “Miss Zelda, we’ve practiced super well to sing it! It’s an old song sung by a goddess.”

“A goddess?” Zelda asked, blinking. “Which one?”

“I don’t know.” Cree frowned then looked at the green chick beside her. “Genli?”

Genli shook her head.

Cree looked at the last chick. “Kheel?”

Kheel hummed, tilting her head then shook it. “I don’t know. But it’s about her lover.”

Zelda appeared amused. “Is it now?”

Notts nodded. “So, will you practice with us?”

Zelda supposed it couldn’t hurt.

The kids hadn’t heard of a temple. And Ganondorf wasn’t back yet.

She nodded. “But just for a few minutes.”

The Rito chicks all cheered before lining up. Together they began to warble a slow song tinged with a haunting undertone.

Zelda closed her eyes as she listened to the music, something about it pulling at her in a nostalgic way.

“My dearly beloved, one day we will meet across space and time. I hope that day comes quickly as I miss your warmth by my side. My dearly beloved, the fates are cruel. The smile I once adored is gone from your face, replaced by someone I don’t recognize.”

Ganondorf closed his eyes as he listened to the song, Zelda’s voice much better than she let on. He felt like he knew the song.

“My dearly beloved, I’ll keep you in my memory and one day I pray we will walk together once again.”

Ganondorf opened his eyes and blinked when he saw Hylia standing on the platform, her wings against her side and white dress trailing at her feet.

Hylia turned to look at him with a smile.

Then he blinked again and Zelda was standing where she had been, still singing the song.

Ganondorf frowned then shook his head, turning and walking away to allow Zelda privacy.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The others were asleep.

Ganondorf sat at a small desk with a candle lit, looking over the map to plot out their next route once they left Rito Village.

Ganondorf pressed two fingers against his temples as he stared at the map, his other hand resting on Astrid who was curled up in his lap.

They could go down to the desert. Ganondorf was quite interested in where Beedle had found his swords.

The bottom left corner of the map held no name or anything to indicate it as a place of interest.

Ganondorf knew why.

It was named Gerudo Desert and Rhoam had erased anything to do with the Gerudo’s history and culture once his massacre had been completed.

Ganondorf looked at the Faron region.

They could also go there. It was mostly temperate rainforest, but Lurelin was there and he knew the Zora wanted to see the Sea Zora. They still had time before the Sea Zora arrived though.

It was just dependent on where a temple was.

Ganondorf let his gaze drift back to the blank portion of the map.

There could be a temple in the desert. They also needed to find a maze.

As Ganondorf stared at the map, he noticed a strange portion and tilted it slightly so he could see better.

It looked like a maze.

They had to go to the desert then. Part of it was a selfish reason but the maze being there was also a boon.

As Ganondorf marked the maze with a star, footsteps caught his attention and he glanced towards the inn entrance to see Revali standing at the threshold.

Revali stared at him then left.

Something in his gaze made Ganondorf realize the Rito wanted to talk to him alone.

Carefully setting Astrid on the bed closest to him, Ganondorf blew out the candle then left the inn.

Revali waited at the landing close by. He smiled when Ganondorf approached. “Can’t sleep?”

“I could ask you the same thing.”

“I saw you were awake and decided to tell you what I found while on my patrols rather than wait until tomorrow.”

Ganondorf crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow, waiting for Revali to continue.

“I heard you were looking for a temple. Well, you needn’t search anymore. I found the temple you seek.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for any errors xD  
> Comments and kudos are my lifeblood :)


	20. Arc 1: Deception

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Look at that a day and another chapter xD  
> I hope you guys enjoy it; it's sliiightly shorter than the previous few chapters so I'm not that happy with it but it's good enough.  
> Comments and kudos are my lifeblood :)

Ganondorf grunted as Revali dropped him to the snowy ground. He glanced around the area, sunk into a ravine. Docks lined one side of the area, giving off the impression that he was on a frozen lake.

Ganondorf remembered the warning of the ice Zora, but he was still in Tabantha and not Hebra, so he assumed he didn’t need to worry about what lurked beneath the ice of this lake.

Lake Kilsie was just beyond the mountains where the flight range was.

Revali landed on a nearby dock with a flourish.

“Okay, so where’s the temple?” Ganondorf grunted, glancing around to see if he could spot anything from where he stood.

He couldn’t see anything offhand and hoped the temple wasn’t beneath the ice. If it was, they were screwed. There wasn’t anyway for them to access it.

“I thought I saw an opening over there,” Revali said, gesturing to the area further down. “I assume it was your temple entrance since no animals make their homes here and it looked manmade.”

  
Ganondorf frowned before he began to search around.

The ice shifted and creaked under his weight and he hoped it was thick enough to support him.

The warm clothes may be excellent at keeping away the cold air, but he was certain it wasn’t made to withstand freezing water.

A wind blew and some of the snow coating the ice on the lake slid away, revealing the dark water below.

Ganondorf glanced down at the water beneath his feet, waiting to see something move, but the water remained still.

Revali followed him from the land, searching for an opening to the temple that was possibly hidden under the snow.

After a bit of searching, Ganondorf came up blank and assumed that Revali had been wrong about the area.

Something in the atmosphere changed and the hairs on Ganondorf’s neck stood on end.

He felt like he was being watched.

Taking out his swords, Ganondorf slowly glanced around without moving.

Nearby, Revali withdrew his bow.

Ganondorf didn’t breathe as he remained still.

Whatever was watching him could see him but he couldn’t see it.

_Where…?_

There was a cracking of ice and Ganondorf glanced behind him just as something burst up from underneath, sending up a shower of snow, ice, and water.

Whatever it was, it was large and white with glowing spots along its head and arms.

To Ganondorf, the body structure was similar to a Zora, but the creature was gone too fast to be certain.

As the creature crashed back through the ice and into the water beneath, Ganondorf backed up.

“What is that?” Ganondorf asked, glancing towards Revali.

The Rito held his bow and an arrow but didn’t have them ready to attack anything. He didn’t even look concerned.

As Ganondorf looked at him, Revali smiled, putting his arrow and bow away.

“It’s an ice Zora. They lurk beneath the ice and wait for prey to walk onto it. Then they break the ice to get at their catch.”

Ganondorf had thought the ice Zora had only lived in the waters of Hebra, but apparently he was wrong. There were ice Zora living beneath Lake Kilsie then. Hold on.

“Wait, you knew about the ice Zora living here?”

  
Revali appeared amused that Ganondorf had finally connected the dots, shaking his head as he held up his hands. “And you stupidly followed me into the trap.”

Ganondorf realized he had been completely foolish. Like a gullible child, he had followed Revali without Link or Zelda to help him.

The ice Zora suddenly burst up in a shower of ice shards inches away from Ganondorf who stumbled backward to avoid it.

Revali remained safe on land, watching as the ice Zora methodically broke the ice in a circle around Ganondorf, blocking off any potential escape.

Ganondorf scowled at the Rito. “Why are you doing this?”

  
“Because I won’t allow you to destroy Hyrule, beast.”

  
So he did know about the prophecy. That explained the dirty looks. How long had he been planning this?

The ice under Ganondorf cracked and he looked down to see it breaking between his feet.

Looking between the ice piece he was standing on and the solid ice a few feet away, Ganondorf took the chance and leaped off the splitting ice.

Something grabbed his leg in mid-air and dragged him down, ruining his trajectory.

Ganondorf landed halfway on the solid ice covering the lake, the jagged edges digging into his chest as he scrabbled to support himself.

The ice Zora gripped Ganondorf’s waist, trying to use its weight to drag him down.

The water seeped through his warm clothes, freezing his skin.

As he dug his nails into the ice for purchase, Ganondorf kicked his leg and struck something that shrieked.

The pressure clinging to him was gone and Ganondorf assumed he had kicked the Zora holding him.

Taking advantage of the freedom, Ganondorf began to drag himself out of the freezing water, but the cold frosting his bones made his body sluggish and slow to respond.

Ganondorf grit his teeth as he felt the ice shift down under his weight, beginning to break with the pressure.

“Crap….” Ganondorf mumbled, searching for another way to get out of the water.

If the ice underneath him broke, he had no way to keep himself afloat long enough to get out.

The Zora grabbed onto Ganondorf’s waist once more, yanking down hard.

Ganondorf gripped the ice hard until his fingertips became bloody. He tried to kick at the Zora again, but the movement caused the ice underneath him to break.

Revali watched as the redhead was dragged beneath the water before he opened his wings.

“Take that, calamity. You’ll not destroy Hyrule _this_ time.”

He took off into the air, flapping once then making his way towards Rito Village.

* * *

With no news of a temple being near the village, Mipha decided to speak with Kaneli about possible trade venues.

Due to the Zora’s low tolerance to cold, they hadn’t visited the village or opened trade with the people there.

Since she was already there, Mipha decided to take the first step, with Bazz right behind her.

Kaneli smiled when he saw Mipha. “Ah, good morning, princess. I never thought I’d see a Zora in our village in my lifetime.”

Mipha gave a bow. “It’s a pleasure to be here, chief Kaneli. I understand the Rito and Zora have no open trade between one another and as princess of the Zora, I came to request we open one.”

“Oh?” Kaneli hummed, leaning back in his chair. “A trade with the Zora? What sort of imports would you bring us that we don’t or can’t acquire on our own?”

Bazz glanced at Mipha out of the corner of his eye to see her appearing thoughtful.

The Rito already had cane sugar, rice, arrows and bomb arrows. What else could they use in their shop for travelers or themselves?

“We could supply ice arrows. And we have a few rare fish in our waters that not even Rito can catch. We can also supply luminous stones for lights.”

Kaneli listened to the offers Mipha suggested, stroking his chin as he thought about it. “Hmm….yes, ice arrows would be nice. As would the luminous stones. Accidental fires are all too common, especially during the dry season.”

Mipha nodded, clasping her hands as her headtail flicked. She couldn’t get too excited. Kaneli hadn’t agreed to anything yet.

“And what sort of fish do you have that we cannot get?”

“Deep water fish. Luminous fish and razorback fish. We can also supply Octorok tentacles.”

“Octorok tentacles?!” Kaneli gasped, leaning forward a bit before he shook his head. “They’re too acidic to be of any use.”

“If I may be so bold, chief. We’ve found a way to counteract and extract the acid of the tentacles. They’re quite delicious and the acid makes for a nasty poison.”

Bazz wasn’t sure if Mipha should be showing their hand like that.

Yes, they had created a poison from the Octorok’s tentacles, but it was under lock and key, only to be used in case of war.

Kaneli considered this for a few seconds before he nodded. “Yes, those do sound like excellent imports. The tentacles would be an unusual treat.”

Mipha’s headtail practically waved, appearing excited.

“What can I offer you that the Zora can’t access?”

“The cane sugar and wheat would be excellent. Chillshrooms as well. And cool safflina if it’s not too much trouble.”

Bazz smiled as he watched Mipha’s negotiating. She really was quite efficient. She would be a force to be reckoned with once she was queen.

Kaneli gave a slow nod before saying, “Then we’ve struck an accord. The Rito will give the Zora Tabantha wheat, cane sugar, chillshrooms, and cool safflina in exchange for luminous stones, Octorok tentacles, ice arrows, and those rare fish.”

Mipha smiled and gave a quick bow. “Thank you, chief Kaneli. My father will be pleased to have trade with your people.”

“Of course. Upon your return home, will you give your father my regards?”

“I will.”

With another bow, Mipha left the chief’s room with a bounce in her step.

“That went well,” Bazz murmured.

“It went better than I expected! That was so nerve-wracking…”

“You did a good job for your first time,” Bazz said, setting a hand on her arm.

It lingered there for several seconds before Bazz seemed to remember his place and withdrew his hand quickly as if he’d been burned.

“I’m sorry. That was rude of me.”

“N-no, it was fine.” Mipha smiled. “Thank you for your kind words.”

Bazz gave a slight smile in return as they passed by the kitchen where Link and Sidon were crouched in front of the cooking pot.

Link was trying to make some new recipes to vary their meals during the journey and was now patiently trying to make an apple pie.

So far he had made one, but it had a horribly burnt crust, rendering it inedible. Another had fallen apart in his hands.

Sidon was helping Link with making a right ratio of goat butter, wheat, milk, and cane sugar for the crust.

The crust was either too flaky, too unstable, too bland, or too tough.

Link sighed as another crust crumbled in his hands.

“Ah, this is quite difficult,” Sidon murmured, crossing his arms. “An oven would be helpful.”

Link nodded.

The only oven was back at his home and he was certain it would be a while before he, Zelda, and Ganondorf returned to Castle Town. Cooking pots would just have to do.

**Perhaps I should try to make something else.**

The crepes sounded good.

Sidon shook his head then flashed a grin. “I believe in you, friend! We’re close to making the perfect crust!”

Link smiled at the optimism before he shrugged. **I suppose one more try couldn’t hurt.**

“That’s the spirit!”

Link grabbed some more ingredients to make another crust.

Zelda appeared in the doorway. “Sorry to interrupt, boys, but have you seen Gan?”

Sidon and Link glanced at each other before shaking their heads.

“I haven’t seen him since yesterday at dinner.”

**Try asking Mipha and Bazz.**

“I did.” Zelda sighed, shaking her head. “They haven’t seen him either.”

This wasn’t like Ganondorf, disappearing without a word. It hadn’t been a blood moon last night, so Zelda knew he hadn’t wondered off possessed by the Malice. She was growing concerned with his absence though.

 _Where is he?_ Zelda wondered, looking back at the village.

She saw Revali coming down the stairs and approached him.

“Revali, have you seen Gan?”

“Gan?” Revali hummed, tapping his beak. “The redhead? Not since last night, I’m afraid. Is he missing?”

“I’m beginning to think so…” Zelda bit her lip, looking at the ground. “I just don’t know where he would have gone without telling anyone.”

Revali patted her shoulder sympathetically. “I’m sure he’ll show up eventually. He probably just got distracted by something.”

That _did_ sound like Ganondorf. But he still would have shown up for breakfast.

“I know where Ganny is!” Astrid said, popping up on Zelda’s shoulder.

Zelda looked at the little Korok in surprise. Astrid never left Ganondorf’s side.

“Where is he?”

“He went to a lake and was attacked!” Astrid pointed at Revali. “And it was his fault!”

Revali narrowed his eyes at the Korok before he flapped a wing dismissively. “Your little friend must be confused. I was asleep all night.”

“I saw what happened,” Astrid said. “He told Ganny he found the temple and took him to the lake and something dragged Ganny beneath the ice and he did nothing to help him.”

At this point, a small crowd had gathered to watch the scene in interest, murmuring amongst themselves. Link and Sidon watched from the kitchen. Link was scowling; Korok never lied. It was against their nature.

Kaneli parted the crowd easily, approaching Zelda and Revali slowly, leaning on a wooden cane. “What is all this about? What’s going on?”

“They’re claiming hero Revali killed someone,” a Rito said.

Revali smiled before holding up his wings as he turned to the crowd. “Who are you going to believe, fellow Rito? Your hero or a talking hunk of wood?”

Zelda clenched her hands, barely containing her anger at the Rito’s statement.

Oh, he definitely did something to Ganondorf. But she didn’t know how to make the other Rito believe her that Revali wasn’t the hero.

Then she smiled, crossing her arms as she shifted her weight to one leg. “Oh, yeah? If you’re the hero chosen by the goddess, why don’t you have the Master Sword?”

Revali snorted. “A sword does not make a hero.”

“Actually, it does. It does a lot, Revali. You see, the Master Sword was created by Hylia specifically for her chosen hero. Only he can wield it and it’s a symbol of his heroism.”

Link grinned as Zelda’s voice switched over to her _I’m-a-queen_ voice. Revali never stood a chance, engaging wits with her.

“What are you getting at, princess?” Kaneli murmured, stroking his beard with one hand. “Are you implying Revali is not the hero?”

Zelda nodded. “I am. I know who the true hero of Hylia is.”

A murmur rippled through the Rito as they all looked at each other.

Revali growled, eyes darting between the gossiping Rito before he stepped forward with his wings raised placidly. “Are you truly going to believe her? She may be the princess, but your words hold no proof that what you say is true.”

“Actually, I do have proof.” Zelda stepped aside as Link stepped forward.

Link withdrew the Master Sword and held it up for everyone to see, the blade glinting in the sunlight.

“And we also have the _real_ Triforce on our hands,” Zelda added, holding up her hand.

The Triforce flashed on both her and Link’s hands.

There was a gaps and murmurs, several Rito scowling at Revali.

Revali backed up a bit, cornered in his own lie.

“What did you do, Revali?” Kaneli asked.

Revali growled quietly before he snapped, “They brought the calamity with them! The beast that will destroy Hyrule and I saved Hyrule singlehandedly!”

“Gan did nothing wrong,” Zelda countered. “You can’t just take matters into your own hands because of past events.”

“He would have destroyed Hyrule if we let him go. So, I got rid of him before that could happen.”

Kaneli closed his eyes with a slow sigh. “Your intentions may have been pure, but you still murdered an innocent man.”

“That beast is not innocent!” Revali snarled, feathers fluffing up. “Time and again he’s destroyed Hyrule! I saved Hyrule from that fate. Why aren’t any of you grateful?!”

“Revali,” Kaneli murmured, “for the crime of murder, you are exiled from the Rito, never to return.”

Revali clenched his wings, then hopped onto the railing behind him, pointing at everyone. “You’ll regret this. You’ll see I was right.”

Dropping from the railing, Revali opened his wings to catch an updraft, flapping away from the village.

Kaneli watched him leave before sighing, setting a wing on Zelda’s shoulder. “I am sorry about your friend.”

Zelda stared at the Triforce on her hand, still glowing faintly.

Nothing indicated Ganondorf no longer lived. She would have felt it. They had a chance to save him.

Zelda looked at Kaneli. “I need to go to Lake Kilsie right now!”

 **I’m coming with you,** Link signed, staring at Zelda intently.

“And we’ll join you,” Sidon said.

“I’m sorry, but I don’t want you guys to get hurt,” Zelda murmured. “The water if freezing there and you guys can’t handle that.”

Sidon frowned while Mipha said, “She’s right, Sidon. Even if we were to go with them, we wouldn’t be much use. It’s better if we stay here and wait for their return.”

Sidon didn’t appear comforted by the fact at being sidelined but Link grabbed his hand to get his attention.

Link smiled. **We’ll be all right. We’ll get Gan and come back here and I’ll make the best apple pie ever.**

Sidon gave a small laugh, gripping Link’s hand with both of his tightly. “Then I trust your word, my friend. Please return safely.”

Two Rito knelt down on one knee to allow the Hylians to climb onto their backs. Once they were settled, the Rito took off.

Link glanced over at Zelda as the Rito flew them to Lake Kilsie. **Are you sure Gan is all right?**

Zelda nodded, staring ahead of her seriously. “I’m sure. Gan isn’t one to go down so easily. And besides, his Triforce is still pulsing. That means he’s alive.”

The only issue was where he was and how they were going to get to him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yeah so next chapter will have quite a bit of culture building xD


	21. Arc 1: Hero of Blades

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My chapters seem to have suddenly gotten shorter xD But I at least like this chapter more than the other ones  
> I hope you enjoy my randomness with culture/worldbuilding

The pressure that gripped him like a vice dragged Ganondorf from the depths of unconsciousness. It felt like a Hinox was squeezing him, trying to crush him.

The air surrounding him was freezing, raising goosebumps along his flesh, and he felt his breath misting with every exhale.

Vaguely, arguing broke into his hearing and hands were holding his shoulders down.

“Damn it, Baltic! You shouldn’t have done that!”

“I’m sorry!” a young voice whined. “But he looked like the murals and I got excited—”

“Well, he doesn’t do us any good _dead_ now, does he? And my magic isn’t working…ugh! He’s resisting it.”

“What should I do, Glacier?” Baltic murmured.

“Go get Iceberg. We’ll need him to help adjust his body to the pressure and temperature change.”

Footsteps padded off, becoming distant.

Ganondorf cracked open his eyes, ignoring the pounding headache, to see an all-white Zora with a round forehead leaning over him.

Blue spots ran down their arms, glowing slightly. Bone jewlery ringed their neck, wrists, and arms.

Glacier noticed Ganondorf looking at them and gave a rueful smile. “Apologies for Baltic. He shouldn’t have done that. Everyone knows that Hylians die easily in our waters. You’re really magic resistant, you know that?”

“Where…?”  
“Don’t try to talk. Iceberg and I will try to stabilize your body to the pressure of our kingdom. You should rest. You’re going to need it.”

Ganondorf stared at Glacier for a few seconds before he gave a short nod, closing his eyes.

The pressure released its claws, allowing him to sink into sleep.

* * *

“From the scattered pages here, we hold an ancient prophecy. Our sacred shamans have long since sworn of a calamitous atrocity. A hero will be born under a bloody moon and a catastrophe. And so we know, and so we know. He bears twin blades and hair the brightness of flaming fire. Our hero will appear when our situation is most dire.”

The low singing brought Ganondorf out of his slumber and he grimaced, hand reaching up to rub his forehead.

The singing halted and a voice asked, “Ah, are you awake again?”

Ganondorf opened his eyes, turning his head to the voice to see the white Zora. He recognized them.

“Glacier….?”

Glacier smiled. “Glad you remember.”

Sitting up, Ganondorf glanced around the room, realizing it appeared to be an infirmary. He could see cabinets containing bottles of strange colored liquid and surgical tools.

He felt a lot better even though a faint chill still clung to his skin.

Ganondorf glanced down to see he lacked a shirt and pants, covered only by a thin blanket.

He wrapped the blanket around himself tighter, embarrassed at being naked in the Zora’s presence. “Where are my clothes?”

“I’m afraid that they’re still drying. They should be done soon.”

“Where exactly am I? Under Lake Kilsie?”

Glacier hummed, tapping their fingers together. “In a sense, yes. We’re at the deepest part of the lake where few can survive.”

Ganondorf noticed sconces with hunks of luminous stones used as a light source and wondered if the entire place was made of luminous stones like the Zora’s Domain. They must have been really deep for no one to notice the structure.

Ganondorf ran his hand through his hair, pausing when he realized it was out of the ponytail he had put it in. It was shoulder-length.

“Aurora wished to see you once you awoke,” Glacier said. “Are you feeling well enough to walk?”

Ganondorf nodded. “Yes, I believe so.”

He swung his legs out of bed and stood up, wrapping the blanket even tighter to shield himself. He glanced back at the mattress curiously.

“What are your beds made of?”

“Sponges. We interlace them with snowcoat fox fur or wooly rhinoceros fur that we catch.”

That was….interesting. The ice Zora had adapted their own jewlery, beds, and medicine for the enviornment they lived in it seemed.

“What about this blanket?” Ganondorf asked, glancing down at the blanket he held around him.

“Same material as our beds, but more sponge than fur. We don’t need to be kept warm. I apologize if it’s not warm enough for you. We don’t usually have Hylian guests.”

“N-no, it’s fine.” Ganondorf shook his head then glanced around as he followed Glacier.

Several ice Zora stopped to gawk at him, a few children peeking around their parent’s legs to stare as well.

Ganondorf could see that the ice Zora were completely different than the Domain Zora. A lot of them were pale in color with light eye colors. There were a few large Zora with broad chests and stony glares had swirled black and white scales and jagged teeth.

He recognized guards as he passed them, their armor setting them apart from the others. The armor wasn’t made of metal, but what appeared to be basalt, polished to a sheen. Their spears were crafted from luminous stones, the spearhead carved from bone.

As they walked, a few Zora trailed after them in curiosity.

Ganondorf tried to ignore the stares directed at him, unsure of why he was getting so much attention.

 _Perhaps it really is rare to see a live Hylian?_ Ganondorf wondered, glancing back at the Zora trailing him.

Glacier lead Ganondorf into a room that smelled of sulfur and spice.

Sitting in front of a low table covered in square cards of basalt was an ancient Zora with long needle teeth jutting from her mouth, an antennae hanging low in front of her face, the end flickering faintly.

Ganondorf could tell by the Zora’s milky white eyes that she was blind.

That didn’t hinder her as she shuffled the cards, spreading them on the table then flipping over three of them, murmuring under her breath.

“Madam Aurora?” Glacier asked but was interrupted by a hand being shot up to silence.

“Hush, child. The cards are reading our fate.”

Ganondorf realized the old Zora was a seer and remained silent. It wasn’t good luck to interrupt a reading.

Aurora gave a low, scratchy hum as she held the three cards she had flipped over. She set them on the table and slowly stood up, using the table for support. Then she shuffled towards Ganondorf, holding out her hands.

“Lower yourself, young man.”

Ganondorf dropped to one knee, allowing the Zora to touch his face.

Her hands remained on his cheeks as she seemed to stare directly into his soul.

A probing began to prickle at the edges of his mind and it took little time to realize the seer was attempting to read his mind so Ganondorf threw up mental barriers to prevent access.

Aurora gave a low chuckle, patting Ganondorf’s cheeks as she stepped back. “I was merely reading the parasite that feeds off you, Ganondorf. You needn’t worry.”

“He has a parasite?” Glacier asked, glancing at Ganondorf.

A few Zora stepped back like Ganondorf was contagious.

“Something he has always had,” Aurora murmured. “It is no harm to us.”

“Glacier said you wanted to see me?” Ganondorf asked, watching Aurora as she shuffled back to the table.

“I merely wanted to make sure you are as Baltic thought. And you are.”

“You mean…?” Glacier started.

Aurora nodded. “He is the Hero of Blades.”

“Whoa, wait. Hero?” Ganondorf shook his head. “You must be mistaken. I’m not a hero.”  
“Show him the mural of the prophecy,” Aurora murmured. “Then he will understand his destiny.”

Glacier nodded. “Of course, Madam Aurora.”

Glancing at the Zora once more, Ganondorf followed Glacier out of the room.

Glacier lead him to a hallway off to the side where a mosaic of luminous stones, basalt, and red coral covered the wall. Along the bottom were words in a language Ganondorf could not read. The mosaic depicted what appeared to be a red-haired figure wielding two blades fighting against a giant fish-like monster.

Ganondorf looked at Glacier. “What does it say?”

“It says, from the scattered pages of a prophecy, our sages have long since sword that a hero with an ancient atrocity will soon be born while his people mourn. Our hero bears sister blades and has hair the brightness of Death Mountain’s fire. He will arrive to our icy home when our situation is most dire.”

As Glacier spoke, Ganondorf swore he could see the mural moving on its own.

He could see Zora carrying the red-haired figure to a structure.

“Wearing our old king’s face, the hero will fight the great monster that lurks in the caves which reside in our home’s deepest waters. Fangs and teeth will repeatedly clash with bone and steel.”

The figure collided with the giant fish, sparks created from their battle.

“And once the beast lays dead, our home can finally heal.”

Ganondorf stared at the mural before he shook his head. “I still don’t see what this has to do with me.”

“You fit the hero of our prophecy to a T! You have red hair and you have two swords.”

“But I am no hero,” Ganondorf sighed. “I’m just….I’m not a hero.”

“Young one,” Aurora murmured, shuffling towards Ganondorf. The Zora watching him and Glacier parted to let her pass. “You may be a villain in someone else’s prophecy, but within ours you are our savior.”

Ganondorf looked away, closing his eyes. “You have the wrong person.”

“We do not. I can sense that you are the one we have been awaiting. You are not a hero or villain by birth. You become one through your actions. Now tell me: what do you want to be?”

Ganondorf looked at Aurora who stared at him impassively. He sighed. “I don’t think I can be what you want me to be, but if your home is in trouble, I’d like to help since I’m here.”

Aurora seemed pleased with the answer as she nodded slowly. “Excellent. Go visit our king. I’ll have Iceberg bring your friends.”

“My…?” Ganondorf blinked before he gasped.

He had completely forgotten about Link and Zelda.

“Oh, crap.”

“You needn’t worry about them. Iceberg will give them magic to help them adjust to the temperature and pressure here.”

“Thank you, wise seer.” Ganondorf inclined his head.

Aurora gave a toothy smile then left.

“You should be more presentable when you are granted an audience with our king,” Glacier said. “Baltic should have your clothes done by now.”

“If not, I can dry them with my fire magic.”

There was a gasp from a deep blue Zora nearby. “You know _magic_?”

“Yes?” Ganondorf glanced at the Zora as they murmured amongst themselves. “Do you not have magic?”

“We have nothing as fanciful as fire magic,” Glacier said. “We don’t have fire down here at all.”

“Then how do you dry things you bring here? Like the fur of the foxes and rhinoceros?”

“We use sponges to soak the excess water then create our own steam to dry the rest and soften it.”

Ganondorf rubbed his chin. “I see.”

That was an intriguing process. He wondered how long it normally took to get fur completely dry.

A Zora Ganondorf recognized at the one that had dragged him beneath the ice ran over to him and Glacier, holding Ganondorf’s clothes.

“I got the clothes dry!” the Zora said proudly, holding the clothes out to Ganondorf. “I’m sorry for frightening you, hero. I lost myself in excitement at seeing you.”

“Uh….apology accepted,” Ganondorf mumbled, taking his clothes. He returned to the infirmary, Baltic following close behind him.

Glacier grabbed Baltic by the fin of his headtail, dragging him off. “Give him some privacy to change, you idiotic seaweed!”

“Ah, right, right.”

Ganondorf glanced over his shoulder as the curtain acting as a door slid closed.

Once he was certain he wouldn’t be interrupted, Ganondorf dropped the blanket and began to pull his clothes on.

They were a bit chilly, but at least they were dry and kept the cold air that the Zora’s home seemed to hold at bay.

Ganondorf set his hair back up in a ponytail then strapped his swords to his hips, feeling less vulnerable with his weapons back.

Once he was done, Ganondorf opened the curtain.

Glacier smiled. “Ah, much better.”

Baltic appeared to be admiring Ganondorf, hands clasped as their headtail wagged.

“Come, I’ll take you to His Highness Arctic,” Glacier waved a hand and Ganondorf followed after them.

* * *

The two Rito that flew them to Lake Kilsie dropped Link and Zelda off before returning back to the village. It didn’t take long for them to find the giant hole in the lake, near the middle.

Zelda searched around for anymore clues as to where Ganondorf was while Link stared at the black water.

“If he was dragged beneath the water, how are we going to reach him? We’d die of hypothermia before we even got far enough.”

Link shook his head, giving a shrug. He wasn’t sure either. Their clothes were built to keep away the cold air, not the freezing water.

“What are we going to do?” Zelda began to pace as she gripped her hair. “We did all this for _nothing_? This can’t be how everything ends. We’ve only done three temples!”

Link grabbed her to stop her from panicking, making a _calm down_ gesture.

Zelda took a deep breath then slowly let it out before nodding. “You’re right. Panicking won’t do us any good. I must have more faith in Ganondorf.”

Link smiled and gave a thumbs up.

There was a splash nearby and both Link and Zelda whirled around at the noise, Link withdrawing the Master Sword while Zelda summoned the Light Bow, bowstring pulled back and ready with a Light Arrow.

Floating in the center of the broken ice was a blue Zora with black stripes. He stared at them blankly.

Zelda took a few steps towards the Zora, trying to appear intimidating. “What did you do with Ganondorf?!”

“Your friend is well and safe,” the Zora rumbled, not seeming to be bothered by the duo’s reaction. “I can take you to him.”

Zelda and Link glanced at each other, wondering if they should trust the strange Zora.

* * *

As they walked up some stairs, Ganondorf gazed around the Zora’s home.

It really was similar in structure to the Zora’s Domain, but it lacked an inn and shop for obvious reasons. The pillars were a mix of luminous stones and basalt.

Two guards standing at the entrance to the throne room eyed Ganondorf with quiet grunts.

One of the guards was covered in scars and Ganondorf wondered what sort of creature could have cause such deep wounds.

“Don’t mind Polar and Siberian,” Glacier murmured with a grin at Ganondorf. “They’re always like that.”

“I suppose I would be too, guarding royalty.”

Glacier gave a short laugh. “Yes, I suppose so.”

Sitting upon a throne of what appeared to be red diamond was a large Zora half the size of Dorephan with swirled purple and white scales. A scar ran vertically down his left eye and the fins along his arms were sliced in half or ripped.

As Glacier kneeled in front of the king, Ganondorf did as well.

Arctic smiled and raised a hand, allowing the two to stand. “We have been awaiting your arrival, Hero of Blades. I never expected to see you in my lifetime however.”

Ganondorf didn’t refute the king’s claim of him as a hero, frowning slightly at the sour taste in his mouth.

He wasn’t what they believed him to be.

Arctic appeared to see Ganondorf’s doubt and hummed, resting his chin in his hand. “I see. You don’t believe yourself to be our hero.”

“He has seen the murals,” Glacier protested. “Even the seer has proclaimed him as the one we seek.”

“Yet you still don’t believe?”

“I find it hard to believe,” Ganondorf mumbled. “I have always been a villain destined to be run through with a sacred blade.”

“And you don’t believe that in someone else’s prophecy you could be the opposite?” Arctic hummed, appearing to raise an eyebrow as he tiled his head.

Ganondorf clenched his hands. “I’m not sure. However, I cannot sit by if your people are in danger. I’d like to help however I can.”

Arctic gave a rumbling laugh, clapping his hands. “That sounds like a hero to me! Now, my friend, we ask that you save our home. But please listen to my story first.”

Ganondorf nodded. “Of course.”

“A long time ago, people visited our great home more often than they do now. We had powerful magic users that created Death Masks.”

“Death Masks?”

“Yes. You see, upon death Zora royalty had a Death Mask created to preserve their features and to be remembered generations from now. In order to make our home more accessible to travelers, our magic users imbued the Death Masks with special powers that allowed the one wearing the mask to transform.”

Ganondorf frowned, glancing down as he took in the information. “You mean…by wearing the mask, they could transform into a Zora?”

Arctic nodded. “Yes. It worked out wonderfully. Races who couldn’t withstand our temperature range or depth could visit our home and trade their goods with us. However, one of our magicians grew greedy and turned to dark magic. They began to create Death Masks of other races. Hylian, Rito, Goron, Deku. He tried them all, even daring to make one from a _god._ Of course, it was against our code of ethics to use black magic for the unforeseen consequences. An old king banished the magic user to the depths of the lake. The magician vowed vengeance.”

“Let me guess. That beast from the murals is the old magic user.”

“Yes. The black magic has twisted him into a monster beyond recognition. We managed to seal him in a temple to prevent him from wreaking havoc on the land above and while that seal has held for a century, I fear it is weakening.”

Ganondorf crossed his arms. “You want me to kill the monster.”

“It is your destiny! Please.” Arctic reached behind him, pulling something from a place Ganondorf couldn’t see, and held it out to the redhead.

Ganondorf stared at the mask Arctic held, the face of a brown Zora with a protruding horn staring blankly back at him.

“Take the form of the ancient king Icebreaker and put an end to the beast that plagues our people.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did I literally make up an explanation for the mask powers in Majora's Mask? Yes, yes I did.  
> Oh and if you couldn't guess from their descriptions:  
> Baltic is a porpoise Zora  
> Glacier is a beluga  
> Aurora is an anglerfish  
> Arctic is an orca  
> Iceberg is an orca  
> Icebreaker is a narwhal  
> the ice Zora are mostly coldwater/arctic fish/mammals  
> And remember: reviews are my lifeblood :)


	22. Arc 1: Hello, Old Friend

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Temple chapter whoo!  
> This is a long chapter cause of that xD

As Ganondorf stared at the mask, he heard footsteps approaching him. He had barely looked over his shoulder when he was given an armful of Zelda, dropping the mask to support her.

“Gan!”

“Zelda. Link.”

Link gave a wave and a smile.

“Are you all right?” Zelda asked, looking up at Ganondorf as she pulled back. “I heard what Revali did.”

“I’m fine.” Ganondorf shook his head. “It was my own fault for wanting to find the temple so badly.”

“These are your friends, hm?” Arctic asked, leaning forward to get a better look. “A pleasure to make your acquaintance.”

Zelda bowed. “The pleasure is all ours, sir. Thank you for saving him.”

“Oh, no. It was no bother. Now the question is how to allow you to accompany the hero to the temple…” Arctic leaned back, rubbing his chin.

“Hero?” Zelda questioned, frowning then looking at Ganondorf for explanation.

“They believe I’m their hero,” Ganondorf said, bending to pick up the mask he had dropped. “I’m supposed to defeat the beast in the temple.”

Link stared at the mask in Ganondorf’s hands, a haunted look briefly crossing his face.

Zelda didn’t know about any hero, but if there was a temple…

“How do we join you?”

“You would need masks of your own,” Arctic rumbled. “I have the Death Masks of two of Icebreaker’s most loyal guards.”

The Zora reached behind him, grabbing two masks with similar features and handing them to Zelda and Link.

“This will allow you to travel to the temple without magic.”

Zelda turned her mask this away and that, staring at it in interest.

Link appeared as if he were going to drop the mask like it had personally offended him.

“Iceberg will show you to our kingdom’s edge and help you with the power of the masks.”

Iceberg grunted, striking his chest twice with a closed fist before bowing. Then he turned and walked off.

Glancing down at the mask once more, Ganondorf followed the Zora.

Zelda trailed after Ganondorf then looked over her shoulder to see that Link hadn’t moved from his spot. “Link? Are you coming?”

Link startled, glancing at Zelda then staring at the mask in his hands. He dropped it as if it had burned him, taking a step away and shaking his head. **I can’t. I’m sorry.**

His hands were shaking as he signed.

** I’ll sit this one out. **

“Sit it out? Link, we need you at the spring. It won’t work without all three of us.”

Link shook his head more, keeping his gaze averted from Zelda. **I can’t. I’m sorry.**

Zelda frowned then nodded. “All right….if you change your mind, you’ll be able to find us, I’m sure.”

Link nodded, looking to the side.

Zelda bit her lip then followed the direction Ganondorf had gone in.

Link watched her leave then glanced at the mask laying on the floor. He looked away, closing his eyes to block out the images of a moon falling and wide yellow eyes staring into his soul.

Iceberg and Ganondorf were waiting for Zelda at the edge of a bridge.

“Where’s Link?” Ganondorf asked when he noticed the lack of blond.

Zelda shook her head. “He’s not coming.”

“Hm. I hope the spring works with just two of us.”

“Me too.”

Iceberg gave a grunt to get their attention. “Put masks on. Then jump forward.”

Zelda looked out at the black expanse before them, seeing a faint shimmering.

A magic barrier was holding the water back from enveloping the domain.

Ganondorf glanced down at the mask in his hands before he flipped it around, setting it against his face. He expected some sort of physical signs that the mask was working, but all Ganondorf felt was his skin prickling and pressure against his ribs.

Looking down at his hands, Ganondorf saw the deep red scales that now covered them. Gills were pressed against his chest, the scales on his chest and belly cream-colored.

Ganondorf felt the tail that now protruded from the back of his head shifting side to side as he glanced his new body over. He noticed the three foot horn jutting from his forehead, but couldn’t feel its weight. He did feel minute vibrations around him, coalescing at the tip of his horn then running down to the base as he processed the movements.

The Zora moving in the domain behind him.

Ganondorf looked at Zelda to see if she was ready and saw a golden Zora with swirled white scales. Her form reminded him of Iceberg and wondered if they were the same type of Zora.

She kept grabbing at her headtail to get it to stop moving, appearing embarrassed.

Her sword remained at her side and when Ganondorf checked he saw that his blades had remained with the transformation as well.

Iceberg nodded at the two then gestured to the exit beside him.

“Are you ready?” Ganondorf asked, looking at Zelda once more.

“I don’t know. This feels unnatural.”

“Everything about this is unnatural, Zelda.” Ganondorf jumped forward, passing through the barrier and into the water beyond.

He had expected to be assaulted by freezing temperatures, but the water surrounding him was temperate. He supposed it was because he was an ice Zora.

Beside him, Zelda flailed as she burst through the barrier, flipping once before coming to a stop.

Ganondorf smiled as she struggled to right herself.

Iceberg came out last, floating towards them. “I will show you to temple.”

Ganondorf helped Zelda then followed after Iceberg, watching how he swam with his arms by his sides, feet propelling him.

Once he adopted his form to mimic Iceberg, it was a lot easier to keep up with the stoic Zora.

Zelda fell behind, struggling to keep up with them.

Ganondorf slowed to a stop, arching over her to adjust her hands. “Like this.”

“How are you doing that?” Zelda asked, watching Ganondorf swimming with apparent ease.

“Stop thinking like a Hylian. Let your Zora instincts tell you what to do.”

Zelda made a face at the suggestion.

Zora instincts? They weren’t Zora though. Well, they were temporarily, but it didn’t make a difference.

Ganondorf shook his head as he watched Zelda battle internally before he slowed to a stop, glancing around.

His eyesight had adjusted to the darkness of the water and now he sensed movement nearby that screamed _fish,_ spiking a predatory drive within him.

Iceberg slowed to float towards Ganondorf. “Hungry? You not eat for long time. Want to hunt?”

Ganondorf hadn’t eaten for a long time and his stomach growled to remind him of it.

Iceberg nodded and swam off in the direction of the fish.

Ganondorf followed with Zelda bringing up the rear.

The movement practically vibrated his horn as they got closer to the source and Ganondorf soon spotted the small school of glowing fish.

Iceberg shot towards the fish first, snagging one in his mouth as the others scattered.

After a few seconds, the fish returned to congregate.

Iceberg gesture to the fish as he bit into his catch.

Ganondorf stared at the fish, not sure if he was fast enough to catch one. He lunged toward the fish which scattered at the sight of him. He tried grabbing some with his hands or snapping his teeth at others, missing in both instances.

As the fish gathered together again in a spot further away, Ganondorf sighed at his poor hunting skills as a Zora.

A flickering of movement caught his eye and he tried grabbing at it only to miss. There were no fish around him, but the flickering persisted.

Ganondorf turned in a circle in an effort to catch whatever had his attention, headtail waving in irritation.

Zelda chuckled at his struggling before moving forward, setting a hand on his horn. She pushed it down then slid off the fish that had gotten skewered on the tip. “There you go.”

Ganondorf smiled as Zelda gave him the fish. He sank his sharp teeth into the fish as Zelda snuck towards the fish to get her own.

It took about five times before Zelda caught one.

The three ate their catches in silence before Iceberg continued to lead them to the temple.

He swam down until they reached an underwater cave. The opening was too square to be natural.

Iceberg gestured to the door. “Here is temple. Be careful.”

Ganondorf nodded and the Zora swam off, leaving Zelda and Ganondorf alone.

“How do we get the door open?” Zelda asked, moving closer to inspect the door.

It wasn’t locked but it appeared difficult to open.

“Hmm.” Ganondorf stared at the door before he tried to pull it up.

The door didn’t budge.

Staring at the door intently to see what the trick to opening it was, Ganondorf saw a small notch in the center.

“I wonder…?”

Backing up, Ganondorf lowered his head and moved forward slowly until his horn made contact with the door.

He twisted his body a bit and felt something within the door move.

As Ganondorf moved back, the center of the door caved in before splitting into fourths and sliding open, granting them access.

“Guess your horn is the key,” Zelda muttered, swimming through the hole.

Ganondorf grunted as he followed behind her, glancing around.

The inside of the temple was enormous and circular. The ceiling was domed and had two slots, allowing water to cascade in like a waterfall.

Above the waterfalls, ganondorf saw two targets and he hummed to himself.

Zelda was busy looking at the water beneath her, spotting three floors.

Small jellyfish sparked below them, but didn’t seem intent on moving towards them.

She poked her head out of the water. “There are floors beneath us.”

“I’m assuming then we need to lower the water level then to get to the boss room.”

Zelda nodded, staring at the waterfalls. “What do you think we have to do?”

“I think we have to hit these targets.” Ganondorf pointed to the targets at the top of the waterfalls. He moved closer to one, dipping underwater briefly before swimming up the waterfall. At the top he pushed out of the water, striking the target with his horn.

He splashed into the water below and waited for something to happen.

“Maybe we have to do it at the same time?” Zelda suggested.

“Perhaps.”

Zelda swam over to the second waterfall, looking over at Ganondorf.

Ganondorf gave a nod and together, they swam up the waterfalls. Zelda hit her target with her sword as Ganondorf hit his target with his horn.

There was a thud as they landed in the water.

Slowly, the water level lowered until a walkway racing the circumference of the temple was revealed. Along the walkway, shellblades hopped along and stranded skeleton fish flopped.

Above the floor was a target on the right waterfall while a button was above the other waterfall.

The right hand waterfall appeared to be stronger than before and Ganondorf figured only he could swim up it.

“I’ll take this waterfall. You take the one with the button.”

Zelda nodded and moved over to the left waterfall.

Once again, they swam up at the same time. Ganondorf destroyed the target above him while Zelda hit the button.

Instead of lowering like they had thought, the water raised until it halted near the top of the temple, a walkway slightly out of reach.

“It raised?” Zelda asked, looking around the new level. “How do we get it to lower to the third floor?”

Ganondorf spotted a door frame on the ledge and pointed to it. “In there, I imagine. We may need to reverse the water flow.”

“Oh….that makes sense.”

Ducking beneath the water, Ganondorf swam down a bit then propelled himself up until he breached the water. Flipping once, he landed on the walkway, water dripping from his fins.

Zelda rolled her eyes at the theatrics then dove down before swimming up so she could follow him.

Ganondorf opened the door and allowed Zelda to go in ahead of him.

The room beyond contained a small area of water.

Ganondorf jumped into it, swimming to the bottom and noticing a valve.

The arrow was pointed up.

Ganondorf swam around the valve, creating a miniature whirlwind which slowly began to turn the valve until the arrow pointed down.

“Got it?” Zelda asked when Ganondorf leaped out of the water.

Ganondorf nodded. “We should be good to go.”

Leaving the room, they repeated the same waterfall trick to lower the level to the second floor.

No targets were on the waterfalls, but there was a a button on the walkway.

Zelda got out to press it and the water lowered to reveal the third floor.

“All right. We’re getting somewhere,” Ganondorf said as Zelda dove back into the water.

Along the walls were murals of a Zora leaping out of the water along with Zora doing mid-air turns and twists.

“I guess we have to do it at the same time?” Zelda guessed, staring at the murals.

Ganondorf hummed with a nod. “I imagine so.”

Memorizing the pictures that the murals showed, Ganondorf and Zelda dove under the water before breaching it, arcing past each other.

They repeated the diving and breaching, doing barrel rolls or calculated flips as they passed each other. Ascending the waterfalls, Zelda and Ganondorf pushed off the walls behind them to launch themselves at the opposite waterfall, completing the swim to the top to strike the targets.

The water level raised to the second floor.

Zelda groaned as she landed in the water, slapping it with her hand, headtail waving angrily. “Are you kidding me? We have to do this again?”

Ganondorf chuckled as he jumped onto the walkway, opening the door.

Under the water was another valve that he reversed.

Zelda waited outside and once Ganondorf returned she pressed the button on the wall.

The water level finally lowered to the fourth floor.

Jumping back into the water, the two searched for their next objective and spotted a giant valve sitting in the venter of the floor.

“What do we do with this?” Zelda asked. “It looks too large to open alone.”  
Ganondorf shook his head then pointed to a chest.

Zelda went over to it and opened it, pulling out a pale blue bracelet.

“A bracelet?” Ganondorf muttered. “What the heck do we do with it?”

Zelda shrugged, looking the bracelet over. She spotted Nayru’s symbol on it. “It’s Nayru’s Vambrace, I think.”

“What?”

“It’s said Nayru had vambraces to control ice. She could make ice blocks or even grab certain objects.”

“Why do I have the feeling that wasn’t left here on accident?”

“Because nothing we find in the temples is an accident,” Zelda said, sliding the bracelet on her left wrist.

It glowed slightly, tightening around her wrist before flattening and spreading out a few inches to create a forearm guard.

“Cool,” Zelda and Ganondorf said at the same time.

Ganondorf swam back to the huge valve, staring at it. “I think we both have to do it.”

“Will we be strong enough?”

“I hope so.”

Zelda nodded and swam to the other side of the valve.

Together they began to swim around it, their movements pressing the water against the handles.

Gradually, the handle creaked then began to move. Off to the side, a piece of floor began to twist open, expelling even colder water.

Ganondorf and Zelda stopped, moving closer to the opening to stare down into the dark abyss that greeted them.

“The boss is down there,” Zelda whispered. “I can feel it.”

“Let’s not keep him waiting then,” Ganondorf said, heading down into the hole.

Zelda bit her lip then slowly followed.

Even with their heightened eyesight and the spots beginning to glow along their arms, it was difficult to see.

The tunnel they were going down opened up into a chamber and Ganondorf glanced around for any sign of the boss.

“Maybe it’s dead?” Zelda whispered, still searching for signs of the boss.

“No. It’s coming.”

“Ẉ̬̜̥̯̗h̹̥̘̯y̭̯͈,̲̞̗̺͎̯ ͞h̩̱͢e̟͎̣l̙̙͍l̮o̮̱̩ ͉t̶̖͈h̺͕̞͙ͅer̦̺̯̦͔͡e̵͈͚̮̱͈̞,̱̟̻͕̺ ̮̤̭͓͎̼͙ợ̟̲l̤̰̪͔̹̪d̡̖̼̹̭̖̦ ͇̭̰̖f̢̹̩̪r͇ị̫̤̗̥̗e̥̗n̥͔͓̤d̶̥̳,” a warped voice crackled. “I̶͔̪̣̣̘͚ ̡̫͓̤͎̞ͅh̫̬̱̜͇͈a̜͙̺͙͉̙͔v͜ȩ ̥͎̩̩̕b͕̗̱̲̜͓͇e̷͇͍̻̹̠̮en͜ ͕̦͙͉̫a҉̤̦̣͎̱͚͔w̙̮̲̼̩̟a̳̝̖͉̤̲i̸͖̺̞t̼i̥̭͍̪̺͞n҉̻̺g̢̗͚͓̘̩͙ ̪y̵ͅoư̼͚̺̬̼̹̼r̜͟ ͚͉͓̱͇a̳̘̠̰̲r͉̥̦͖͈̖̮r̫̫͖i̷̝v̴͖̗a̺̞͈̼͉l̛͚ͅ ͈̙̥͓͖̭ͅfor̢̤̬̮̫̺̲̖ ̡̪̘s̳͞o̞ ͎͔͚l̢̟o̷͓̺̼̱n̙͖̗̼̱̤̬g̳̰̘̻̗̺.̱̩̰̯̫͟ͅ”

A spot of light appeared in the darkness several feet away before it brightened to reveal what appeared to be a giant fish that reminded Ganondorf of Aurora. Its fins were longer than average, ending in long finger-like appendages.

“So you’re the old magician that was corrupted by your own black magic,” Ganondorf muttered. “How does it feel to be trapped as a monster?”

“Y̮̝̜͢o͉͓͈u̹͎̼̪͙ ̧w̸o̞̠͜u͝ld͕̬͜ ̛͖̥k̝͢n̴̪̬͇̰o̗̗̯̬̱w ̼͖̱̮͔̠̥a̭l̤l̞ a͖̥͈̥̘͟b̼͍͉̫̼͡o̙͚ư͉̺̥t ̭͇͟t̛̩͓ͅh̛̦̺̦̬a҉̗̻̬t̼̩͈̝̠,͏ ̗͓̤̗̗͇w͠o͜ṳ̢͔̦͖̱͕l͓̜d̮̭n̛̞'̞̫͍̮͠t̷ y͏̗͎̱̱o̺͈̼̯͓̗̺u̶,̧̘̼͈ ̢̪͓̪G̮͍̟̖͡ͅa̩̲̪̜̞̥̫n͏̬o̮͈̠ṇ̟͔̳̗ͅd̯̣o͙̰̜̲̭͖̹r͈̺̖͇̕f̨ ͏͍͈D̰͍͖r̥̰͔̹a̪̭̩̱̪ͅg̼̟͙̗m̞ͅi̟r̸e̯͔͖̼ͅ,͠ ̙̜Ḏ̯̺͔̝̪͍em̢̗̖͕͔̯͇̩o͚̰̠̪̩̼n̸͇̙ ̨̙̩̯̤̗ͅĶ̦̠̺̻̥̥i͚̜͎n͓̞̲̣̘͙͎g̣̱̻͜?” the magician snarled. “Y̖̣̲̯͉ͅo͡ų͎̹ ̢̦͇̣̟̫͎m͍͙͖̗̯̣a͇̯y͓̯͞ ̨̱w̶̰̥͈̤̹ͅę̩͉̩a͙r̰̠̻̻ ̕t̶h̖e̡͕͇̰̟ ̥͚̼̟̝̮͘f̨͙a̧̟͍̝͍̝c̻̲e̗̲̭͈ ͡o͇̬̣̩̩̦̫f̹͕ ͎͙̖t̘̺̞̼̤̝ḫ͉͖͇̯͕͠a̜͉͔̺̪̜̩t͍̪͍̟̱͓̜ ͔̟̪̱̹̰̟o̸ḷ̗d̸ ̣̼͘fo͙̤̥̣̻o͎̫̗̱͙͓ͅl̩͖̣̭̫ͅ,҉̟̻̦̯̝̦ b̹̬u҉̗͍͍̰̬̼t͓͎ ̴̭̤̱͍I̱ ̰̰̠͍c̞͍͕̘̲ͅa͓̲̦͙n̤ ̜͍s̫̻̥̫̱e͕̭̖͉̫̥̭e̤͎͓͎̟ ̢̯̞ͅr̶̭̣̠i̹͇̺͍g̪͖̜̱h͍͙̖̦̩t ̲̝̼̝̦pa͎͇̻̦͈̕s̴̰̝̼͎͖̼t̥ ̷̳̬̬̭ͅi̬̹͜t̲̣̥̫̪s ̤m̤͚͍̲̟̘a͖̲g̞i͇̬̝̠̤c͓̺̖.͕ ҉̝̤͍̩͈I͈͙ ̢͈̦̹̝͓h̩̪e̦̞̩̻͈͔͉lp͔͙͉͍͡e̪̞͕̙̠ͅͅḏ̴̥̝̝̯̜̥ ̮͓̮̟̣̮͡c̦͔̣̥͖̲̗r̤̘̝̮̯̲e͓̘̳̥̟͓͔a͓͚̟͈t̹̮͘e̙̜͖̫ ̨͓t͚̝̭̯̦̩̣h̦͍̞e͏͈̲̣͇ ͓̣D͍̯̠̞e̖͖a̮̮̹̪͜t̴̲͔̰̘̲̳h͖̱͔͕ͅ ̦M̵͓̜̬̪̫̜a̟s͖̘̙̭ͅk̯͕̫̞͇ͅs̯̖̘͕͔̳̻͠,̭͍̭̰͕̹̖͡ ͈̫̹̙̻̗͈a̡̘͓f̸̜̤̞t̘̙̤͠ͅe͉͈͕̜̫̝͖r ̧̠̙̹̱̜͍a̯͙̩l̩̺̠͜ͅl.̲͡”

Ganondorf rolled his eyes. “I’m aware. I never got your name. I imagine the Zora didn’t want to speak it.”

The magician sneered, shaking his large head with a growl. “M̹̜y̶͓̻̯͉̼͍̼ ̱͍͎̬͈͙n͕̣̟͍̭a̢̬̤̬m̻̝͓̮̱͝ḙ̮̟͎͉̲ ̪͝w̼̫͡a͔̫͎̪s͚͕͔ ͝F̷̳̳̞i̹͚̝̬ͅs̜̰̥͎̹͜h͡e̷̤̣̤ͅr.̮ ̹̠Bu̡͕̟͙t͚͔͍ ̫̝̥̖̣̳͜n͈̺̱̳̘͕o̧͉̠̼͎̫w̵̗͚͉͈̜̣ͅ ̛̳I͖̬̻͖͇̮̠ ̨͇̣̤̱͙̰̞g̖̲̤͕o̦̕ͅ ̢̲̩̰b̛y̲̫̝͔͈̩ ͔̭̱͓A̸͍̝̤̳b̴͓y͎s̶̝͕̞̯̤ͅͅs̡͈̳̬̣.”

Abyss began to slowly circle the two and Zelda moved closer to Ganondorf.

“I̡͔'̩̯v̢̳̜̼̰e̵̳̼͚̫̻͉ a̭͚͖̕l̻w̼a͇̯̳ͅy͎s̘̰̤̯̝͉ͅ ̦̬w̧̳̥͍͔͓̦a҉̥̮̬͔n̹̜ţ̰͇e͚̻̖d̕ ̸͙̪̞͉̱̺̟to̲͙ ̸͇̲̞̰t̮̫͈̞as͏̰͍̞̪͔̝̳t̹̰̞̱e̩̳ ̯͈th̘e͚̲̤͈̯̯͚͝ ̛̙f̩̲̙̰̠̩̺͢l̶͔̩̱̳ḙ̥͙̬̥̜s̗͖̱̱̝̲̰͘h̭̟̮̪͖̮ ̹̙͙̼o͇̗͔f҉̰̫̱̜̟ ̟̹͈̯ͅa̲ ̡̪̣̯̼̤͇͔ḓ̮͍̗̺̣e̹̥̘̭͔m̶͈͙͉͍͇o͕͜n̴̙.̞̥̥Ą̲̰͉n̟̮̗͝d ̻͎̗̯͝a̠͎̮͙̪͔f͚̦̻͓t̬̹̖̹͘e͡r̡͎̝̠̣̘ ̟͕̞͈͔be͙̼̟̺̳i̡̟̘ṇ̙͇͜g ̢l̩̳̻̮̻o̻̹͔̤c̶͈͎̤͖̦͙̼k̺̞͙̞̻͎̺e̺͖̲͉̞͈d̻̥͈͞ͅ ̶̞̬̣͓̥u̠̟̝̯͍͡p͙̹ ͙̱̝̞͠i̳͚̫̙̰n͔͚͡ ̬͘he̥̲r҉̮̤ḛ͙̥̼̭ ̠̜f̨͙̩o͠r̝͕̣͔ ̛̖̞a̳͇͎̻̼͙̠͞ge̛͉s̱̳,̭̬͎͙̖ ̗̘I̫͎̙͈̫͎̞'̼̖̳̗̗m̨̬̠̻ ̟̻̻͍̟s̴̬̙̖̪t̰̘͇͙͍̯̮a͇̱̬̖̮r̜v̭̥ị͇͙͉̯͢n͉̣͍g̦͖̥̬̲͈̰͟!”

Abyss shrieked, the light extinguishing and plunging the area back into darkness.

“What do we do?” Zelda whispered. “How do we fight something we can’t see?”

Ganondorf could feel Abyss moving but he couldn’t pinpoint the exact location. “I think we’re going to need the vambraces. Just follow my lead.”

Zelda nodded, keeping an eye out for Abyss.

A light appeared several feet away, catching Ganondorf’s attention.

“There!” He pointed towards the light.

Zelda immediately held her hand out towards the light, holding onto the vambrace with her other hand.

A red line of light shot from the vambrace, wrapping around the light.

Abyss shrieked as he became visible, shaking his head to try and free himself.

While Zelda struggled to keep herself steady, Ganondorf shot towards Abyss, drawing his swords and executing a barrel roll, blades slicing several cuts into Abyss as he passed.

Abyss screamed as thick black blood seeped into the water. Another shake of his head and he broke free of the vambrace’s bind, light snuffing.

“We wait for him to show his face again,” Ganondorf muttered as he moved to Zelda’s side.

Once again, they kept an eye out for Abyss and after nearly a minute, Abyss’s light reappeared.

Zelda used the vambraces to grab ahold of the light and Ganondorf moved to strike Abyss until Abyss broke free and disappeared.

They repeated the process a third time, more inky blood floating in the water.

When Zelda caught the light on Abyss’s forehead a fourth time, Ganondorf was about to draw his swords when Abyss shrieked, “En̨̖̹̘̘o͓̼̣͓͡u̖͓̮̠̬̦ͅg̪̹͝h̵͕̱͕͉̣ ̛͍͖͙o̝f҉͙ ̦͔̘͓̦̥͝ͅt̟̖͚̮̼ḫ̮i̤̹̭s̺̺ ̺̗̪͍̰̜ͅf̬̼̻̬̝̘̮ǫ̟̦o̧̰͓̳̰̻̥̼l҉̞͙ͅi̷̯̱̻̲̪̖s̭̙̮̠͔̮̠h̤̦͍̯͔̹̕ͅn͖͕̗e̴̯͙͖͕̤̥s̯̗̝͎̩s͚̦̳!”

With a sharp shake of his head, Abyss dislodged the vambrace’s hold before swimming towards Ganondorf with a snarl.

Ganondorf moved to the side to avoid the charge, but Abyss turned his head sharply.

Ganondorf felt the teeth close around his horn before he realized what was happening, Abyss crunching through the horn like it was nothing.

The pain blinded Ganondorf as he gripped his forehead where the horn stub remained.

Abyss turned and shot straight towards him, mouth wide open.

A blur darted at Ganondorf, yanking him out of the way of Abyss.

“Link!” Zelda gasped when she saw the golden Zora holding onto Ganondorf.

Link gave a thumbs up.

“Took you long enough…” Ganondorf mumbled, the pain radiating through his head subsiding until it was a throbbing headache.

Painful, but bearable.

Link smiled, not at all offended. **Sorry I’m late.**

“Ạ͉n͉̫̠̮͝o͔̠̹̺̟̱͙t̤̖͇̲̻̼h̘e̞͇̮̯̩̦ͅr̩̼̞ ̥͇̫͓͉͝one̶̦̗̤̹?” Abyss snarled, glaring at the group. “I̵͈̟̫͍͕t̛̩̣̬͈ ̜͍̰m̜͕̻͇̝̬̱a͚̹̞̤̺̘̝ṯ͢ṯ͔͇͔̖͕̮͠e̻̺͖r̟͎̬s͙̫͖ ̺͟n̵̳̱̥̦̱̱̙o̧̰̜͉t͔̯̠̺̕.̨ ̠̱̞̟̱̻͇͝Y͢ͅo̵͖͎̲̥̯͉u͏̬̲̫͖͕̮ ̬̫t͕̭̗̗͕̖ẖr͖͓̜͇̩̗͞e̥̬͇e ͇̞͕̥̩w͙̕i̭̣̣l̻͙̰͇l̳̰̰̺̗͢ͅ ̲k͍͠e̡̮e̸̥̠̻̙̰̥p̞̠͝ ͙͚̤͕̯̘m͇̭̖e ̨͕s̼͉̤̫̥͚͟a͓̝͚̹̬͙̱t͍̟i͜a͚̱̲̙̳̯t̗͖̹̟e̸ḏ͎̹͇̻̯ͅ ̙̞̼̙̪͞f͚̠͎̩o̟͉̹̫͕̱̗r̦̹͙ ͏a̤̝͙̘͎͠ ̖̼̪̺͙l̤̯̪̲o̭̦̠̮̘̗̝n̸g̳̪̝ ̱̗̯ͅṭ̨͔̱̥im̛̦̬̥̠̙̹̘ḛ̛̟.”

Ice blocks formed in front of Abyss.

“What do we do with those?” Zelda asked as the ice was shot towards them.

“You said the vambraces can make ice, right?” Ganondorf asked. “Find a way to use that to our advantage.”

Together, Link and Ganondorf swam toward the oncoming ice, using their blades to destroy the blocks while Zelda figured a way to turn Abyss’s own attack against him.

Zelda hit the vambrace to try and get it to work before holding it out towards one of the ice blocks.

A blue line raced towards the ice block, a forcefield wrapping around it.

Zelda moved her arm to the side, bringing the ice block with her, then she swung her arm back.

The ice block struck Abyss’s head and he shrieked, the rest of the ice blocks vanishing.

Ganondorf took advantage of Abyss’s stunned state, attacking him with Link right behind him.

They backed off when Abyss shook his head, ice blocks forming once again.

With the rhythm down, the three managed to deal a fatal blow to Abyss, Ganondorf slicing off his antennae while Link and Zelda drove their swords through his forehead.

Abyss shrieked, thrashing before going limp and slowly beginning to sink.

Off to the side, a door slid open to reveal a tunnel.

“So what took you so long?” Ganondorf asked as they swam towards the tunnel.

Link shrugged. **Not sure. Mask creeped me out. Think it had something to do with one of my past lives.**

“Something to do with the masks?” Zelda hummed. “I wonder what…”

“Well, whatever it was, we’re almost done.”

Link nodded.

The tunnel opened up into a chamber which held a spring, the rest of the water blocked off around it in a bubble.

“This is a spring?” Zelda murmured as they passed through the bubble. She felt the water and it was pleasantly warm.

“Another spring down,” Ganondorf said, heading into the spring.

Link followed behind him and Zelda came in last.

* * *

_ He could feel the seal holding him weakening again. He had been put back in the first time he had broken free, but not this time. This time he would succeed in finding her. _

_ He broke free, pulling himself from the depths of the seal. _

**_ Hylia! _ **

_ He had to find her. _

**_ Hylia! _ **

_ He tried catching her scent, but it was faint. _

**_ HyliaHyliaHYLIA! _ **

* * *

_ Ghirahim smirked as he held his sword almost mockingly. _

_ He wasn’t going to lose this guy again. Not when he was so close to finding Zelda. She was close; he could feel it. _

_ Ghirahim was just being a nuisance now. Ghirahim wasn’t going to find Zelda or the Gate of Time. Not while he was there to oppose the demon. _

_ Gripping the handle of the Goddess Sword tighter, he lunged at the demon lord. _

* * *

_ Impa glanced at her and slowed down a bit. “We can rest here if you want, Your Grace.” _

_ She almost collapsed in relief. _

_ Impa sat beside her. _

_ “I don’t get why we have to do this again. We already did the springs.” _

_ “In your time,” Impa murmured. “For the ritual to be complete, you have to also bathe in the springs of this era as well.” _

_ “Seems stupid to me,” she mumbled, crossing her arms. _

_ Impa chuckled, smiling slightly. “Yeah. Hylia would have thought the same way.” _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you had fun with the Zalgo text cause I sure did :3  
> Comments are my lifeblood :)


	23. Arc 1: Twilight's Requiem

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Urgh I thought I'd never get this one. With pokemon out that's all I want to play but I got this out!  
> Enjoy. It's more of a filler chapter, I suppose

Rhoam grumbled to himself as he continued to scratch on the sheet of parchment laid out in front of him.

As he dipped his quill back into the inkwell, there was a knock at his door.

“Come in,” he said, tapping the quill to knock off the excess ink before continuing to write.

The door opened and Impa stepped into the room.

Rhoam glanced at her then set the quill down, taking the sheet and sliding it into a drawer of his desk. “What is it?”

“You have someone here to see you, Your Highness. He says he has information that you’ll want to hear.”

Rhoam hummed. He hadn’t been expecting anyone.

“Of course.” Rhoam stood up and made his way to the door. “I’ll meet with him right away.”

Impa bowed as Rhoam passed her then glanced toward the desk.

Rhoam had appeared frustrated with whatever he was writing and she knew he hadn’t taken any work lately. Impa wasn’t one to pry and as a Sheikah she should follow Rhoam to an almost blind endeavor.

But she was curious about what he had been writing.

Glancing back at the door, Impa made her way to the desk and opened the drawer, taking the sheet out.

It was Rhoam’s Last Will and Testament.

“Why is he adjusting his will?”

Rhoam had completed his will years ago shortly after his wife died. Even though by birthright, Zelda had the right to the throne, the will was a formality.

**I, King Rhoam Bosphoramus Hyrule XCIV, resident of the country of Hyrule, being of sound mind, decree that should I step down as king or upon my inevitable death ~~my daughter Zelda Adeena Hyrule~~ shall ascend the throne.**

Impa blinked at Zelda’s name being crossed out. Why would Rhoam cut his own daughter out of the will? Was he really so certain she no longer lived? Or was it something else?

Setting the will back where she had found it, Impa closed the desk drawer then left the room. She joined Rhoam in the audience room where a young Rito waited, preening himself.

“This is who wanted to see me?” Rhoam asked, glancing at Impa.

Impa nodded. “He calls himself Revali and claims to have information that you’ve been seeking.”

Rhoam looked back at Revali. “State your business, bird.”

Revali gave a flourishing bow. “Your Highness, I’ve heard that you’ve been searching for a many by the name of Ganondorf. Red hair and traveling with your daughter?”

Revali straightened with a smirk, feather tapping against his beak.

“Well, I’ve come to tell you where he hides.”

* * *

“Thank you for letting us use the masks, King Arctic,” Zelda murmured as she handed her mask back to Arctic.

The group was standing at the edge of Lake Kilsie, Arctic seeing them off after their completion of the temple.

“It was no problem,” Arctic said with a smile. “Thank you for ridding us of that beast.”

Ganondorf shook his head. “It wasn’t too difficult.”

Arctic glanced at the bracelet on Zelda’s wrist. “I see the vambrace has finally picked an owner. I’m glad.”

Zelda held onto the wrist the bracelet was on. “I can keep it then?”

“Of course. The vambrace chooses its owner and it seems to have chosen well.”

Zelda looked down at the bracelet with a smile.

“Once again, thank you.” Arctic gave a bow. “If you ever need our help again, do not hesitate to contact us.”

“We will,” Ganondorf murmured. “Thank you for your hospitality.”

Arctic gave a nod before ducking beneath the water.

Link glanced around them before signing **Okay, how do we get back to the Rito Village from here?**

Zelda and Ganondorf observed their surroundings to find the best route.

They could climb the mountain buy the flight range but that would be too difficult. The only other route was to take the long way around, traversing through the deep snow of Hebra Tundra and past Coldsnap Hollow.

“Guess we’re in for a walk,” Ganondorf sighed, beginning to walk.

All they needed to do was loop around to Dronco’s Pass and the rest of the way to Rito Village would be easy.

Zelda and Link followed close behind him.

“How long will it take?” Zelda asked. “I’m sure Sidon and the others are worried.”

Link nodded.

They had left them back in the village and that had been who knew how long ago.

Ganondorf shook his head. “Not sure. Probably a few hours.”

He squinted up at the cloudy sky to try and guess the time, but the sun was hidden.

“We might get there this evening, barring any storms or monster attacks.”

“Don’t jinx it, please,” Zelda groaned, closing her eyes.

Ganondorf smiled a bit, shaking his head. “Okay, okay. Sorry.”

* * *

Once they had passed into Rospro Pass, the snow had cleared away. Across Lake Totori was Rito Village, another hour away.

Even though they were hungry, they were ready to push through it to get a nice meal at the village. They did take a small break to rest their feet though.

“I’m glad to be out of the snow,” Zelda sighed, stretching her feet out. “That was enough snow to last me a lifetime.”

“Tell me about it,” Ganondorf mumbled.

Link nodded, flopping on his back.

“Where are we going after we leave the village anyway?” Zelda asked, looking at Ganondorf. “You made a decision, right?”

Ganondorf looked down. “It’s more of a selfish request than anything else.”

**Where is it?**

“I want to visit the desert. I know the Zora won’t be able to handle it even with elixirs and special clothes, but I want to see it.”

“You don’t have to be ashamed to ask, Gan,” Zelda murmured, setting a hand on Ganondorf’s arm. “That was your home. There’s no shame in wanting to return to it.”

Ganondorf smiled a bit at the reassurance.

There was a growl and they looked at Link who appeared embarrassed, rubbing the back of his neck.

**Hungry.**

“I saw an apple tree back there,” Ganondorf said, pointing in the distance. “We can have a few then move on.”

Link nodded, popping to his feet and taking off in the direction of the apple tree.

Zelda chuckled at the sudden enthusiasm that Link had gotten at the mention of food.

“He’s easily trained with food, huh?” Ganondorf sighed, leaning back on his hands.

“It’s been a long trek.” Zelda unwound the turban from her head, beginning to try and get the tangles out of her hair.

“We have three more temples and two more of those mazes. We’re almost done.”

“And what then? Do we remain on the move or do we find a place to hide out for the rest of our lives?”

Ganondorf sighed, looking down before shaking his head. “I’m not sure. I wish we could go back to how things were, Zelda, I do. But I don’t think that’s possible.”

“I know,” Zelda whispered, closing her eyes.

Ganondorf was about to set his hand on Zelda’s shoulder to comfort her when something bit his neck. He slapped his hand to his neck, feeling a small needle and pulling it out to stare at it.

“Ganon?” Zelda asked, looking at him when he had fallen silent. She gasped when she saw him laying on the ground. “Gan!”

Zelda shook Ganondorf then spotted the needle in his hand. She recognized it as a Sheikah needle used to put targets to sleep.

“Oh, no….”

“Zelda!”

Zelda looked up as Purah ran up to her, Impa not far behind.

Purah looked relieved to see her while Impa appeared conflicted.

Zelda stood up. “How did you even…”

She stopped when she realized there was only one way the Sheikah could have found them.

“Revali.”

He was a roasted bird the next time she got her hands on him.

“You’re to come back to the castle, Zelda,” Impa said. “Your father wants to see you.”

“You don’t have to do this, Impa. Just tell him you didn’t find us. Please.”

That sure didn’t sound like a kidnapped victim under duress.

Impa hesitated.

Rhoam had been a bit strange lately, almost unhinged in his thirst to find Zelda and Ganondorf. A lot of people had seen his change. His obsession.

Purah glanced at her sister when she noticed that Impa hadn’t said anything for a while.

Impa sighed. “Don’t make me incapacitate you as well, Zelda. Just come with us quietly.”

Zelda bit her lip, glancing at Ganondorf before she slowly nodded. “All right…”

With a nod, Impa went to pick Ganondorf up so they could leave.

Purah began to chatter at Zelda about this or that as they walked.

Zelda glanced behind her, wondering where Link was. It didn’t matter; he was sure to break them out.

* * *

Sidon sighed as he stared out at the village’s entrance. Waiting for any sign that Link and the others were returning.

It had been nearing two days that they were gone and Sidon was growing concerned.

When were they going to come back? Surely, they had gotten Ganondorf by then. But perhaps there was a temple? That would explain why it was taking so long.

Sidon gave another sigh, headtail swishing in anxiety.

“I’ve never heard you sigh so much,” Mipha laughed as she came to Sidon’s side with Bazz. “You don’t need to worry about them, you know.”

“They’ve been gone for far too long.”

“They didn’t say when they would be back,” Bazz said. “It could take a week for all we know.”

Mipha shook her head with a smile when Sidon sighed again.

Sidon perked up when he saw a blond Hylia running toward the entrance, immediately going to greet them.

“Link, my friend!” he looked around when he couldn’t see any sign of Zelda or Ganondorf. “Where are Ganondorf and Zelda?”

 **Sheikah got them,** Link signed hastily, appearing as if he had just run for miles. **Taken to castle. Come on.**

“What are we going to do at the castle?” Bazz asked.

Link grinned. **Jailbreak.**

* * *

Zelda glanced down at the hallway where two guards had taken Ganondorf before looking up at Rhoam who sat on the throne.

“Zelda.” Rhoam stood up at the sight of his daughter, appearing surprised. “You’re all right.”

“Of course I am, father. Ganondorf doesn’t want to hurt me. In fact, we’re trying to—”

“Excuses. He has brainwashed you, Zelda. That’s all right, though.” Rhoam enveloped Zelda in a hug, squeezing her tightly. “He’ll not torment you for much longer.”

Zelda pulled herself out of his grasp. “What are you going to do?”

“That beast will be hung at dawn.”

Zelda’s eyes widened.

Hanging had been outlawed as an execution tactic centuries ago for ethical reasons.

“You can’t do that,” she whispered. “He’s done nothing wrong.”

“I can do whatever I want. I’m the King.”

“Even condemning an innocent man to death?”

Rhoam snorted. “He is _not_ innocent.”

“In this life he is! He hasn’t waged war or committed bloodshed.” Zelda clenched her hands as she glared at the man her father had become. “You’re no King; you’re just a bully.”

Rhoam whirled to face Zelda, face red with outrage. “I have singlehandedly prevented Hyrule’s ruin! I am a greater King than any of my forebearers ever were!”

“You’re half the King they ever were. At least they didn’t stoop so low as to murder a whole race of people out of fear of the future.”

Rhoam was shaking with suppressed rage. He swung his hand out in Impa’s direction. “Lock her in her room. She’s not allowed out until I say so.”

Impa gave a slow bow. “Yes…Your Highness.”

Zelda stared at her father in challenge before she followed Impa to her room.

* * *

The cold had seeped into his bones and Ganondorf twitched his stiff fingers before slowly stretching out. He sat up, glancing around to see that he was locked in a cell.

“This again?”

At least this time he wasn’t chained up and his swords were still on his hip.

He wasn’t sure if that meant he was in a trap or not.

 _Surely, they know I can bust through these easily?_ Ganondorf thought as he stood up, brushing himself off.

He noticed the Sheikah paper slips covering the bars and hummed.

They were probably to prevent him from breaking the door and leaving. His fire magic would probably just bounce off as well.

 _How do I get out then?_ He wondered, glancing around the cell for any sort of opening or other way out.

Something tickled at the back of Ganondorf’s mind and he remembered that he had the ability of teleportation.

His past selves had been experts at it, but he hadn’t even tried it. It was the only way out of the cell though.

Ganondorf closed his eyes as he began to concentrate on where he wanted to go. He needed to get Zelda and they needed to leave before they got caught. He knew the basic route to Zelda’s room and pictured the closest area to her room in his mind.

He felt his body shift as it slipped through the planes of Hyrule and space. It was an unusual sensation and a bit nauseating.

Ganondorf hoped he would become accustomed to it.

Once the sensation stopped, Ganondorf opened his eyes and glanced around.

It took less than a second to realize that he wasn’t in the right area. Or the right realm.

As he looked around, Ganondorf realized he recognized the place and mumbled, “Oh, crap.”

“Now what are you doing in my realm, usurper?”

Ganondorf faced the voice and saw Midna lounging on her throne, appearing as if she hadn’t aged.

“Hm. Are you here by coincidence?” Midna rested her chin in her hand. “No, nothing in this world is coincidental, is it? So, this must be fate.”

Ganondorf tensed a bit, ready for a fight.

Even without the Fused Shadows, Midna was a force to be reckoned with.

Midna stood up and walked off, turning down a hallway. “Follow me, usurper! You needn’t worry about me harming you. I only wish to talk.”

Ganondorf hesitated then followed Midna until he caught up to her.

“So, how is the realm of light faring?”

“It’s…fine. How do you think that me coming here is a part of fate?”

Midna smiled. “Your magic never fails you. By you coming here instead of wherever your original destination was, it means fate intervened. What is the state of the realm now between you, Princess Zelda, and the Hero Link?”

“We’re…friends. We’re searching for a way to halt the cycle.”

“Is it working?”

“Yes, so far. We have about three temples left to visit.”

“I see.” Midna nodded. “Then I will make sure to pray for your success. I imagine you’re in a hurry, so I won’t keep you much longer. I only wish to give you something to aid you in your journey.”

Ganondorf raised an eyebrow, not sure if he trusted whatever Midna was about to give him.

Midna chuckled. “Don’t be so nervous. It’s not something to hurt you. I can sense you aren’t like him.”

“That’s what Link said,” Ganondorf mumbled.

“Link has a keen eye. If he trusts you, then I’ll trust you.”

Taking out a small black stone shaped like a diamond, Midna held it out to Ganondorf.

“A Twilight Shard. Keep it on your person at all times. I imagine you’ll need it soon.”

Ganondorf slowly took the shard, the power of it thrumming in his hands, before he nodded. He put it in his pocket.

“Thank you.” Ganondorf gave a bow. “I’ll be leaving now.”

Midna smiled. “Give the princess and the hero my regards.”

* * *

Zelda sniffled as she hugged her knees to her chest, sitting on her bed. She hadn’t even recognized her father and she wasn’t sure if he could be saved.

Zelda closed her eyes as she sent up a silent prayer for Hylia or any Goddess to hear. She wanted everything to go back to normal where her father warm-hearted and a kind man and she could wile her days away playing games with Ganondorf and Link.

A crash interrupted her thoughts and Zelda straightened to see an annoyed Ganondorf leaning against her armoire, his face disgruntled as he mumbled, “I have to work on my landings.”

“Ganon!”

Ganondorf smiled when he saw Zelda, giving a wave. “Hey, Zelda. There you are.”

Zelda got out of bed and went to help Ganondorf to his feet. “Are you here to help me? Wait, how did you even get in here? Impa’s guarding the door.”

“I remembered I could teleport.” Ganondorf brushed himself off. “But neither here nor there. Let’s get out of here before the guards notice I’m gone.”

Zelda nodded, holding Ganondorf’s arm tightly. “We have to find Link.”

“Knowing him he’s already waiting for us.” Ganondorf closed his eyes, focusing on the point in space of where he wanted to go.

Just outside the castle walls, near the moat. It was a familiar place and they could leave quickly.

Zelda’s grip on his arm tightened as he locked onto the position.

It took a few seconds for them to appear by the moat’s edge, landing on the ground with a grunt.

“Oh, I don’t like that,” Zelda muttered as she stood up shakily.

“You get used to it.”

“Zelda! Ganondorf!”

The two looked to see Link coming towards them with the Zora right behind. Sidon was riding a disgruntled Helltrotter while a nervous Bluebell supported Mipha and Bazz.

Sidon was waving at them eagerly.

“Told you,” Ganondorf said with a grin.

Zelda elbowed him.

Sidon slid down from Helltrotter as they stopped. “We’re glad to have gotten to you so quickly. Link was expecting to jailbreak you.”

Link nodded. **Glad you got out. What should we do now?**

“We need to get down to the desert,” Ganondorf said, pulling himself into Helltrotter’s saddle. “We may lose them.”

“We’ll use the waterways,” Mipha said. “We’ll meet up with you at Digdogg Suspension Bridge.”

“Be careful,” Zelda murmured, patting Bluebell’s neck as the Zora headed to the moat.

“Careful is our middle name!” Sidon said with a grin.

Bazz rolled his eyes at the response.

After the Zora had dove into the moat and sunk beneath the water, Ganondorf kicked Helltrotter into a canter, steering him in the direction of Hylia Bridge. To get to Digdogg Suspension Bridge, they would have to pass that strange plateau again.

He could hear Zelda and Link follow after him but paid little mind to it.

He was focused on the desert, his home in every life, and how he was about to feel its warmth on his skin once again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So yeah the next two chapters are gonna be angst ridden xD  
> Comments are my lifeblood :)


	24. Arc 1: Ganon

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter took forever -.- I didn't want it to be too short  
> Anyway, I hope you enjoy :3

As they passed by the mysterious plateau, looping around it to the right, Ganondorf glanced over his shoulder. He couldn’t see any guards following them and was relieved that they either couldn’t keep up with the head start or that the guards had lost sight of them.

Either way, without the guards on their tail, it made the trek to the desert that much easier.

Digdogg Suspension Bridge loomed before them, sturdy wooden bridges connected to huge land platforms jutting above the lake.

Ganondorf had heard rumors that the bridge had once been built by Goron to connect Hyrule with the southern portion, but he wasn’t sure how much faith to put into it.

Goron hated water that wasn’t hot spring water and being over water for who knew how long while constructing the bridge? It was more possible the Gerudo assisted, to allow more travelers to their home.

None of that mattered now since the area was barren of travelers. Without the existence of the Gerudo, the desert was just a big empty bowl of sand and monsters.

Ganondorf was brought out of his thoughts when Helltrotter stopped suddenly with a jerk.

Annoyed, he kicked the horse a bit. “It’s a bridge. It will hold your weight. Come on.”

Helltrotter had halted at the first bridge and refused to move.

Zelda came up beside Ganondorf. “What’s that matter? Why did he stop?”

“I think the bridge scares him.”

Helltrotter snorted, shaking his head and taking a few steps back.

Ganondorf pulled the reins hard, trying to steer the horse back to the bridge. “Come on! It’s a stupid bridge!”

Helltrotter nickered then reared up to knock Ganondorf from the saddle.

Ganondorf grunted as he hit the ground, rubbing his back and glaring at Helltrotter as the stallion moved to the side.

Helltrotter’s actions began to make Bluebell and Epona nervous, the two mares shifting side to side.

“What’s gotten into them?” Zelda asked, sliding down from Bluebell and patting her neck to soother her.

Link gave a shrug as he patted Epona.

“Helltrotter doesn’t scare easy,” Ganondorf mumbled as he stepped onto the bridge.

It held under his weight.

Zelda tried to pull Bluebell forward but the mare yanked back, the reins jerked from Zelda’s grasp, and the horse went to Helltrotter’s side.

Link didn’t even bother to hold onto Epona as the chestnut mare went to Helltrotter and Bluebell.

Ganondorf threw up his hands. “Come on! It’s a _bridge_!”

“I don’t think it’s the bridge that scares them,” Zelda murmured.

 **A monster then?** Link asked.

“Helltrotter isn’t scared of monsters,” Ganondorf snorted, crossing his arms.

“There has to be something that has them spooked, Gan.” Zelda brushed past Ganondorf, waving at the boys to follow her. “Come on. Let’s check it out.”

Ganondorf looked at Link who gave a shrug before following Zelda. Ganondorf sighed, trailing after them.

As they crossed the second bridge sloping up slightly to reach the next platform, Zelda could see the potential reason for the horse’s behavior.

In the middle of the road was a black Hinox, snores shaking the ground slightly. Every so often, the Hinox would reach up to scratch its chest or chin before returning to its slumber.

 **A Hinox,** Link signed, scowling at the monster. **I hate Hinox.**

“What should we do?” Zelda asked, looking at Ganondorf and Link.

“Well, to make the horses comfortable, we should defeat it.”

“It’s a _black_ Hinox, Gan. That’s one of the strongest ones.”

“You see another way?” Ganondorf growled, spreading a hand to gesture to where they were. “Trying to sneak past could fail and wake it up.”

“The horses won’t even come here because of the Hinox. We have to move it away.”

Ganondorf rolled his eyes.

“You know why Hinox have a necklace of weapons? Those are from dumbasses who tried and failed to fight it.”

“Then I guess we’re going to be dumbasses.”

Zelda scowled, setting her hands on her hips as Ganondorf glared at her.

Link rolled his eyes, shaking his head as the two started another argument. He stood up, taking out his bow and an arrow, moving towards the Hinox.

“We can either try to defeat it, which I highly doubt, or we can sneak around it, Gan. There’s no other way to the—where is Link going?”

Ganondorf looked towards the Hinox to see Link clambering onto its mountain of a stomach, bow in his mouth. He resisted the urge to yell at Link to get down from his suicidal mission as the noise would wake the Hinox.

Link stood on the Hinox’s chest, steadying himself as eh took his bow out and aimed an arrow at the Hinox. He tapped the Hinox’s chest with his foot enough to get it to grumble.

The Hinox opened its eye halfway then widened it upon seeing Link on its chest.

The second the eye opened, Link fire the arrow right into the giant’s eye, causing it to shriek. He leaped to the ground as the Hinox stood up, clutching its wounded eye.

Ganondorf sighed, unsheathing his swords. “We’re definitely fighting it now.”

Zelda took out her sword, following Ganondorf as he charged at the Hinox.

The Hinox snarled at the trio, glaring down at them and licking its lips.

“Need some help?!” Sidon asked, leaping up from the water below.

The Hinox turned to face the newcomer only to have another arrow added to its eye. It screamed, falling on its rear to nurse the wound.

Ganondorf took advantage to being slicing cuts into the Hinox’s legs.

Zelda attacked the other side.

As the Hinox stood up, Mipha and Bazz came up form opposite sides, their trident and spear carving slashes into its chest. The Hinox howled, stumbling back to grab its bleeding chest, scowling at the six nuisances it was faced with.

“With six of us against it, this Hinox doesn’t stand a chance,” Zelda said, grinning at Ganondorf.

Ganondorf rolled his eyes. Now she was eager to fight it. “Let’s just kill it.”

The Hinox growled at them, shielding its eye with a hand to prevent anymore arrows from striking its obvious weak point.

Mipha and Bazz each stabbed one of the Hinox’s ankles, causing it to rear back with a roar, hand falling from its eye.

Without the shield, Sidon and Link both shot the eye with arrows.

Zelda released a Light Arrow int the back of one of the Hinox’s knees, dropping it to the ground.

With easier access to the beast’s throat, Ganondorf leaped up and swung out his swords, the blades slicing into the Hinox’s windpipe.

The Hinox clutched its bleeding throat as it staggered back until it reached the edge of the platform, plummeting into the water below.

“Taken care of,” Zelda said with a satisfied grin.

Ganondorf half-heartedly shoved her after sheathing his swords.

“That was excellent teamwork!” Sidon said as the group returned to the horses.

 **You’re a good shot,** Link signed, grinning at Sidon.

Sidon shook his head “I much prefer a word or spear to a bow, but the situation called for long-range combat.”

“My brother sounds like a tactician, doesn’t he?” Mipha chuckled. “If we ever need one, he’ll be the first pick.”

Sidon appeared bashful at the praise, rubbing the back of his neck as his headtail swished. “Oh, I’m sure there are more qualified Zora than me.”

“Don’t be so modest,” Bazz said. “You’ve trained the guards better than I have and I’m their captain.”

“Pointers never hurt,” Sidon murmured. “That’s all I gave them.”

Ganondorf sighed as Helltrotter continued to resist him. “They still won’t come.”

“This is unusual,” Zelda muttered. “There must be something else they’re scared of.”

 **Should we leave them here?** Link asked, looking concerned at leaving Epona by herself.

“We’re near the desert entrance,” Ganondorf said, pulling out his map to look at their position. “A few hours walk. We can continue the rest of the way on foot.”

“Then should we camp here for the night?” Bazz asked, looking up at the darkening sky.

Ganondorf glanced at the moon beginning to rise, noticing that it was a quarter moon.

“I don’t see the harm,” he murmured. “I’ll find some firewood.”

 **I’ll see if there’s any thing to hunt,** Link said, already running off to find food.

“We can get some fish,” Sidon offered. “There were some in the waters below Digdogg Bridge.”

As the group separated to do their jobs, Zelda glanced around for something to do.

It felt strange to be out of her Sheikah uniform and in more comfortable adventuring clothes, but she wasn’t complaining. There was no bother hiding anyway with her father’s obsession to find Ganondorf.

With nothing better to do, Zelda searched for some mushrooms and spices that could be added to whatever meal Link made.

* * *

With a few fish, two squirrels, some mushrooms, Hylian rice, and rock salt, Link cooked up some meat and rice as well as a few fish and mushroom skewers.

It wasn’t too large of a meal, but Zelda knew with them traveling to the desert, finding food would be the least of their worries.

She wondered if the Zora had realized yet that they weren’t coming with them into the desert. She figured they did; the Zora weren’t stupid and were aware of their limitations.

“That was delicious as always, my friend!” Sidon said with a grin at Link. “You can always make the best food from a limited number of items.”

Link gave a shrug as he finished off his bowl of rice, setting it with the rest of the dishes.

“We’ll be at the desert sometime tomorrow,” Mipha said, clasping her hands together. “I’ve never seen the desert.”

“No Zora has,” Bazz reminded. “We don’t usually travel this far.”

“You guys won’t be entering the desert,” Ganondorf grumbled. “Even if we gave you elixirs or special clothes, your scales would dry out quickly and oases are few and far between.”

“Then we have to wait for you guys to return again?” Sidon asked, frowning as his headtail swished.

“There is a small stable near the desert entrance,” Ganondorf said. “You can wait there until we return.”

 **We don’t want you to stress yourselves,** Link signed, patting Sidon’s arm. **This is the best way.**

“I understand their reasoning,” Mipha murmured. “They don’t even know where the temple is, so we would be wandering around a lot under the sun.”

“We could go at night,” Bazz suggested. “It’s cooler and there is no sun.”

“Stalmonsters appear at night,” Zelda said. “And it’s freezing in the desert.”

“We have the warm clothes still with us,” Sidon said. “We could wear those.”

“And where would we hide once the sun comes out?” Ganondorf grunted, crossing his arms. “There isn’t much in the way of shelter.”

That halted the Zora as they tired to figure out a way that they could come into the desert.

“You’re not coming,” Ganondorf said. “Too dangerous.”

Mipha sighed and gave a slow nod. “It’s understandable. We wouldn’t want to put too much pressure on you.”

Zelda felt bad for the Zora, understanding their wanting to join them in the adventure, but the desert was too unpredictable for the Zora to travel in safely.

With that settled and the fire still crackling to keep any Stalmonsters at bay, the group turned in for the night.

* * *

As the sun was beginning to rise, they were on their way to the desert entrance. By the time they would reach the entrance, the sun would be high and the desert hot, so Ganondorf wanted to avoid that if he could.

The canyon road winding toward the desert had enormous walls looming over them and rock bridges connecting one side to the other.

The Zora stared up at the walls in awe.

“That’s Mount Nabooru,” Ganondorf murmured, pointing to a steep plateau they passed. “Named after a famous sage of spirit from a long-ago time.”

“She must have been a fierce warrior to have something named in honor of her,” Sidon said.

“She was.”

The wind whistling though the pass rustled the dry grass which rasped along the rock walls.

The sudden breeze had Ganondorf’s neck prickling and he realized that he had the sensation of eyes on him.

Before he could ask if anyone else felt what he did, a traveler was coming towards them.

Ganondorf instantly recognized them as the one that had warned them of a blood moon.

“Ah, hello, friends!” the traveler greeted with a smile. “I didn’t think anyone else would want to come to such a barren place.”

“We’re sightseeing,” Zelda said. “Did you just come from the desert?”

“Oh, no. I just came from the hideout.” The traveler’s smile turned razor sharp. “We’ve been keeping any eye on you.”

Ganondorf narrowed his eyes. “Who exactly are you?”

The traveler flipped backward, their entire appearance changing. They wore a red and black head-to-toe suit with a white mask covering their face painted with a red Sheikah eye flipped upside down.

Zelda gasped at the suit’s color.

Black and red. The Yiga!

She mentally slapped herself, realizing that she should have connected the dots when the Lord of the Mountain mentioned to beware the ones of blood and ink.

Zelda hadn’t seen any Yiga and she knew little about them other than that they were Sheikah who had split due to disagreement with the royal line.

Impa and Purah didn’t know much either about the mysterious cult as the Yiga had existed for over a century.

Zelda imagined any texts on the Yiga had been destroyed by Rhoam.

There were laughs and Link glanced up sharply to see several more Yiga appearing on the cliffs, staring down at them.

It felt like a trap, but it wasn’t like they had been lured there. The Yiga had been waiting for a perfect ambush opportunity.

“Now, you can all come with us quietly,” the Yiga member said, “or we can do this the hard way.”

“Why exactly do you want us?” Ganondorf growled as he unsheathed his swords.

“The master will explain everything to you.”

“I’d rather we not do this,” Sidon said, brandishing his spear. “We’re in a hurry.”

“And we’re not asking,” the Yiga member snarled, stomping a foot before snapping their fingers.

The Yiga along the cliff edges leaped down, tackling the group to the ground.

Two burly Yiga held Ganondorf down while it took four to keep Sidon pinned.

The Yiga approached the restrained group, arms behind their back. They leaned down in front of Ganondorf.

“The master is going to be pleased to see you,” he murmured, poking Ganondorf’s nose.

Ganondorf growled at the Yiga before he grunted when something heavy struck the back of his neck, his vision swimming before going black.

* * *

“He does look like the one in the history texts…”

“See?”

“Hmm…we’ll have to see if he’ll cooperate or not.”

Ganondorf grunted, shaking his head a bit before opening his eyes, blinking to clear his vision.

“Oh, he’s awake.”

“Goodie.” A Yiga kneeled down in Ganondorf’s vision, waving a hand. “Hey-o!”

Ganondorf startled, leaning back as he tried to move away. He realized his arms were bound behind his back, preventing easy movement.

As Ganondorf glanced around, he spotted Zelda and the others a bit away, tied up as well and guarded by several Yiga. He could tell they were on some sort of cliff, but he couldn’t tell where.

The desert spread out in the distance on one side while grass and mountains were on the other side.

The Yiga in front of Ganondorf stood up. “My name is Kohga. I’m the leader of the Yiga Clan. And this!”

Kohga turned in a circle, spreading his arms out.

“Is Spectacle Rock. And what’s about to happen will be _quite_ the spectacle for everyone in Hyrule.”

“So, you’re the master,” Ganondorf muttered. “What exactly do you want?”

“You, of course.”

“A lot of people want me for a variety of reasons. You’ll have to be more specific.”

Kohga shook his head, annoyance obvious even with the mask covering his face. “You see, my friend, we’ve been waiting for your arrival. We need you to take control of Hyrule. To demolish the monarchy so that the Yiga come into power!”

“Why do villains always monologue?” Sidon grumbled, shaking his head.

“For attention?” Zelda asked, shrugging.

Kohga stomped a foot, pointing at the group. “Shut up! Don’t interrupt me.”

“Are you guys all right?” Ganondorf asked, leaning a bit so he could look at the others.

Link gave a nod, the binds rendering him unable to sign.

“Besides being a bit uncomfortable,” Zelda said with a smile, “We’re fine.”

Kohga stomped even more with an annoyed grumble. “Stop talking! I’m busy being intimidating!”

Ganondorf snorted quietly as Kohga faced him again.

“Where was I? Oh, yes. To take over Hyrule we needy our assistance.”

“Not happening,” Ganondorf said immediately. “I’m not doing that this time.”

Kohga chuckled, tapping his fingers. “Well, I don’t mean _you_ you. I mean that beast inside you; what do they call it? Ganon?”

“Sorry. I don’t know how to access Ganon and I’m not going to do it for you.” Ganondorf gave a shrug. “Guess you’ll have to find another way to take over Hyrule.”

“You are very adorable.” Kohga prodded Ganondorf’s forehead. “You think we haven’t done our research? We know how to summon Ganon.”

“If you do that, you’ll be destroyed as well!” Zelda yelled. “Ganon doesn’t differentiate between friend and foe!”

Kohga looked at Zelda with what could be called a glare before looking back at Ganondorf. “Now, you can either do as I say or we can force Ganon to make an appearance.”

“How about you suck my dick and then we’ll see where it goes?” Ganondorf snarled, glaring at Kohga. “You’ll have Ganon over my dead body.”

“Oh, I’m so happy you said that.” Kohga clapped his hands before a small blade was summoned to his hands. “You see, all your transformations had something in common.”

With a swift lunge, Kohga was kneeling in front of Ganondorf, blade driven deep into the redhead’s chest.

“The brink of death. Ganon is a self-preservation mechanism only activated when you’re about to die.”

Kohga yanked the blade out.

“So, since you won’t hand Ganon over politely, we’ll take him by _force_.”

Kohga backed up then turned sharply, striking Ganondorf with a kick hard enough to send him off the edge of the cliff.

“Gan!” Zelda shrieked.

Everything fell silent, the Yiga holding their breath to see if their plan had worked.

After another minute, a large paw gripped the edge of Spectacle Rock, thick claws digging in.

Slowly, a boar’s head pulled up over the edge, tusks long and jagged. A thick mane of fur ridged down Ganon’s back.

“Ganon…” Zelda whispered as the boar beast pulled itself up halfway.

Ganon raised its head, releasing an earthshaking roar.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bet you guys were wondering when Ganon would rear his ugly head xD  
> Ganondorf is TOTALLY fine. Don't worry.   
> Comments are my lifeblood :)


	25. Arc 1: The Desert

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was going to get this up and then I wasn't and now I am getting up :)  
> This is waaay shorter than any others but there isn't much to do before moving to the next chapter

Kohga laughed at the appearance of Ganon, raising up his arms. “I told you we could summon Ganon! Now, as your summoner, I give you an order.”

Kohga pointed to Zelda and the others.

“Kill all of them!”

Ganon snorted quietly, looking towards the group but didn’t move.

Kohga growled, stomping a foot before gesturing again. “I said, kill them! You have to obey me, you stupid pig!”

Ganon snarled, pulling himself up onto Spectacle Rock and lowering his head. He moved it to the side then swung out, tusk making contact with Kohga and sending him flying.

The Yiga gave a collective gasp at the loss of their leader then looked at each other. They scattered as Ganon stared at them. The burlier Yiga attempted to control Ganon by tossing ropes at the beast, the ends studded with jagged hooks that dug into Ganon’s skin.

Ganon snarled at the attempt to subdue him, pulling the ropes to free himself.

It took ten of the strong Yiga to keep Ganon’s leg held down.

With no one watching them, Link flopped on his back, wiggling his hands free of the ropes binding him. Once he was free, he grabbed the Master Sword from the weapon pile nearby, using the tip to cut the ropes binding Zelda and the Zora.

There was a roar as Ganon freed his leg with a rapid spin, sending the Yiga flying.

More Yiga came, a rope wrapping around Ganon’s tusk and beginning to force his head to the ground.

Ganon was having none of it, flicking his head up to dislodge the rope.

 **What do we do?** Link asked, looking between Ganon fighting the Yiga and Zelda.

“We aren’t killing him,” Zelda hissed. “There’s got to be a way to calm him down.”

“I don’t think he’s in a listening mood,” Bazz said, holding his spear tighter as he stood in front of Mipha slightly to defend her.

Zelda bit her lip, trying to think of a way that didn’t end in a death.

When more Yiga appeared in an attempt to control Ganon, the boar beast shook his head with an annoyed roar before opening his mouth.

Purple energy built up at the back of his throat.

Link grabbed Zelda and jumped to the side with the Zora as the energy was released in a beam, passing where they had just been standing.

The Yiga that hadn’t been struck by the beam vanished in clouds of smoke, giving upon their useless endeavor.

Ganon roared, rearing up then dropping back down with a thud. He looked around for more threats.

Zelda gasped. “I think I have an idea.”

“And that would be?” Sidon asked.

“Probably a suicide mission.” Zelda moved towards Ganon.

Link grabbed her arm to stop her. **What are you doing?**

“I’m going to calm him down. You guys need to stay here; you’ll just scare him more.”

“You call that scared?!” Bazz asked, pointing at Ganon who was taking his frustration out on the rock by his feet.

“Just trust me,” Zelda said, looking at Link pointedly.

Link frowned then slowly released Zelda’s arm and nodded.

Zelda smiled then continued to walk towards Ganon.

At the approach, Ganon whipped his head towards her with a snort, nose scrunching up.

“Hey.” Zelda held out her hands. “See? I have no weapons. I mean you no harm.”

Ganon growled quietly, not breaking eye contact with her.

Zelda held up a hand to Ganon’s snout. “Come on. You’re fine now. There’s no reason to stay that way any longer.”

Ganon appeared as if he were about to lower his head towards her hand when he suddenly shrieked, rearing up and tossing his head.

Zelda grit her teeth as she realized the Malice was attempting to take over in Ganon’s weakened state. She was not about to let that happen. She stepped closer, holding her hand up again.

“My dearly beloved, the fates are cruel. The smile I once adored is gone from your face, replaced by someone I don’t recognize.”

Ganon slowly settled down at the singing, staring at Zelda intently as he snorted.

“My dearly beloved, I’ll keep you in my memory and one day I pray,”

Gradually, Ganon lowered his head until his chin touched the ground and Zelda set her hand against his soft nose.

“That we will walk together once again.”

Ganon exhaled a heavy breath, practically melting into the ground as he closed his eyes halfway.

Zelda sighed, petting his nose. “There we go.”

With Ganon sufficiently calm, the others slowly approached.

Link made sure to sheath the Master Sword so it wouldn’t upset Ganon.

“It’s great that he’s calm,” Sidon said. “But how do we get down from here?”

They took in their surroundings.

It was too dangerous to climb down and the sun was heating up the rock they were on. The Zora were beginning to look uncomfortable with the rising heat.

Ganon lifted his head, looking to his right.

Zelda followed his gaze and in the distance she could see an oasis. She pointed to it. “If we could get there, you can remain cool in the water while we find the temple.”

 **How do we get there though?** Link asked. **We don’t exactly have fast travel.**

As Zelda tried to think of a solution, Ganon grunted and tilted his head to the side. She grinned at the invitation, setting a hand on his tusk.

“Actually, we do have a fast travel.”

Link shook his head at the implication. **No way.**

Zelda shrugged as she already began to climb up Ganon’s head. “Have fun finding your own way down then.”

The Zora slowly climbed up after Zelda, Bazz a bit wary, flinching when Ganon snorted.

Link appeared annoyed at Zelda then rolled his eyes, clambering up after the others.

Ganon slowly stood up, begin mindful of his passengers, and dropped down from Spectacle Rock. He walked to the edge of the cliff and dropped down to the desert, sand flying up from his landing.

It took a few steps to reach the oasis.

Ganon lowered himself to the ground to let the group off.

The Zora jumped from his head to the deep oasis water while Zelda and Link climbed to the ground.

Zelda looked up at Ganon as he stood up. “Gan? Can you change back?”

Ganon’s tusks touched the ground as he stared at his feet, looking for something that could give him an indication of whether he could shift back or not. He gave a small grumble.

“Perhaps he is stuck like that?” Sidon suggested from where he and the other Zora floated in the oasis pond.

Zelda hoped not.

They couldn’t do the temples with Ganon. He was too large.

As they struggled to figure out a way to help Ganon, a shard of black rock appeared directly in front of him.

Link gasped at the sight of the rock. **A Twilight Shard!**

“A what?” Zelda asked, glancing at him. “What’s it do?”

**Only one I know of and it helped the Hero of Twilight freely shift between human and wolf.**

Zelda hummed before she clasped her hands. “Oh, you think it can help Gan?”

Link nodded.

That had to be the reason for its appearance.

The shard hovered over Ganon’s forehead before lowering and sinking into his skin.

Ganon remained still even though he could feel the shard underneath his skin, making his forehead itch.

After a bit, he felt a release of energy and without even thinking about it, Ganondorf shifted back, stumbling a bit at the sensation of being back on two feet.

He checked himself over and found that he was uninjured, the chest wound healed. Ganondorf sighed, relieved that they wouldn’t have to worry about trying to heal him.

Before he could say anything, Ganondorf grunted when he was practically tackled by Zelda.

She was squeezing his chest tightly, face buried in his shirt.

Zelda wouldn’t admit it but while she was hugging him, she was also taking in Ganondorf’s scent for future reference. He smelled like warm safflina and woodsmoke, the latter possibly being due to his affinity towards fire magic.

“I thought I lost you,” she whispered.

Ganondorf frowned, knowing what she meant.

The Malice had apparently been waiting for him to access Ganon’s form in order to overtake him. It would have gotten away with it if it hadn’t been for Zelda.

Slowly, Ganondorf wrapped his arms around Zelda, setting his chin on top of her head. “I thought I lost myself, too. But your light is so strong, Zelda.”

Zelda gave a small huff that sounded more like a choked sob. “I could still shoot you with a Light Arrow if you want that light so bad.”

“You wound me.”

Zelda laughed as she pulled back. “I’m glad you’re all right.”

“I’d wish to not experience falling off a cliff ever again.”

“What should we do now?” Mipha asked. “We’re going to have to remain here.”

Zelda looked up at the sun hanging high in the sky.

The oasis was temperate, but she was sure once they left its boundaries the heat would turn unbearable.

“For now,” Ganondorf said before Zelda could speak. “Let’s take a break. I’m exhausted.”

Link nodded, already sitting down and rummaging through his bag to see what food he had left over.

“I guess we can,” Zelda murmured. “But we’re low on food.”

“There’s food in the desert,” Ganondorf said. “Voltfruit and hydromelon. If we’re lucky, some heron or wolves we can take down for meat.”

Zelda sighed. “I wish I was as confident as you are.”

“I’m in my home turf. I’ll be able to keep up from dying of thirst or hunger.”

Link pulled out a few apples, appearing apologetic with the items.

“We’ll need the hydration,” Ganondorf said, taking an apple. He looked at the Zora. “How are you guys doing?”

“As long as we remain in the water, we’ll be fine,” Bazz said. “This pond is deep so it will be sufficient for us until you return.”

“How are you going to feed yourself?” Zelda asked. “We don’t know how long we’ll be gone.”

“There are probably deep underwater tunnels,” Sidon said. “We can traverse them and see where they come out. I’m sure we’ll be able to find some fish.”

Zelda still didn’t appear confident with leaving the Zora alone, but there wasn’t much they could do. It was too hot for the Zora to come with them.

 **So where are we going?** Link asked, after wiping his hands off on his pants.

Ganondorf hummed as he gazed around.

All he saw was sand and dunes, but in the distance he saw what appeared to be ruins. He pointed them out.

“There. That could hold a key for us to find the temple.”

“Or even the temple itself,” Zelda offered.

Ganondorf nodded. “Yes. So we’ll drop by there then continue on if we don’t find anything of use.”

Astrid at least could help pinpoint the location of the temple. If she was willing to withstand the heat of the desert.

“That sounds like a solid plan,” Mipha said with a smile.

“We wish you luck on your journey to find the temple,” Sidon said.

Bazz nodded. “And that you return safely.”

“We’ll be here as fast as we can,” Zelda promised.

“We’ll head down towards Lurelin after this,” Ganondorf said. “Wouldn’t want to miss the Sea Zora.”

Mipha nodded. “We should be right on time. You needn’t hurry for our sake.”

“We’ll still be back as quickly as possible,” Zelda promised. “The desert isn’t a place for Zora to stay in for too long.”

Sidon smiled, but he and the other Zora decided to not argue any further.

Ganondorf and the two Hylians stood up, waving goodbye to the Zora as they headed off into the sands, making their way to the ruins in the distance.

“Are we going to talk about the transformation thing?” Bazz asked once they were gone from his sight.

Sidon shook his head. “I don’t think it’s something we can understand, Bazz. By the way they talk, it’s like they’ve known each other for centuries.”

“That sounds like reincarnation,” Mipha murmured.

“Reincarnation?” Bazz asked.

“I’ve heard the term used among Hylians. Supposedly, if you gain Hylia’s favor, she’ll reincarnate you. So you don’t technically die, but you don’t move onto the great beyond.”

“That sounds awful to me,” Bazz muttered. “Who would want to live forever with no chance of eternal rest?”

“Do you know if those who are reincarnated remember their past lives?” Sidon asked, looking at Mipha in interest.

His sister knew a lot more than he did and he looked up to her for that reason.

Mipha hummed, arms crossed as he headtail flicked. “I’m not sure. I never thought to ask.”

“That still doesn’t explain how Ganondorf could change into that beast,” Bazz said.

“Perhaps it has something to do with that Demise guy,” Sidon suggested. “Hylia did show us that memory. Perhaps he had a hand in what Ganondorf can do.”

The Zora fell silent as they tried to figure out the relationship between Demise and Ganondorf.

Bazz sighed. “All this is making my head hurt.”

“Perhaps we’ll never understand everything about those three,” Mipha murmured. “I believe we’re just spectators in whatever cycle they’re in; only meant to watch, not understand.”

“That is a possibility,” Sidon said. “I remember mom used to say this world is full of mysteries that we may never comprehend and it’s best to not ask too many questions about it or the mystery may reveal itself.”

“And then you’re no longer fascinated by it.” Mipha nodded. “Yes. She had a lot of wisdom in her.”

Sidon missed his mother, but he remembered little of her as he had been a young child when she had passed. The only memories he had of her were those Dorephan and his sister shared with him.

Bazz suddenly looked to his right when he sensed something, but all he saw was sand.

“Is it a monster?” Sidon asked upon noticing Bazz’s behavior.

“I’m not sure. It doesn’t feel malicious.”

The Zora kept back to back, searching for an approaching enemy.

Several feet away, the sand erupted and a figure leapt out, landing on the ground.

Their form was long and tall with brown scales, fingers and toes webbed. There were no gills along their ribs and their headtail was short and tilted vertically.

Mipha gasped. “A Desert Zora!”

“I thought I heard talking,” the Zora said. “What are three River Zora doing here? You’re a bit far from home.”

“We’re waiting for our friends to return,” Sidon said. “My name is Sidon. This is Mipha, my sister, and Bazz, a guard.”

The Zora smiled. “My name is Dune! Are your friends three Hylians?”

Mipha nodded. “Oh, yes.”

“I saw them on my way here. Why are they heading to the old Gerudo Town?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did I say angst this chapter? Oh no I mean a TON of angst next chapter :3  
> Thank you to Trident95 and Yaoi_Shipper for being two of my consistent reviewers; it's because of you guys that I've been keeping up the energy to continue this story  
> Comments are my lifeblood after all :)


	26. Arc 1: A Son's Grief

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> up in two days cause I may not update until next week cause you know Thanksgiving :)  
> I hope you enjoy ANGST >:3

“Old Gerudo Town?” Bazz asked. “Does that mean you knew the Gerudo?”

Dune nodded with a smile. “Yes. Our chief Sandstorm was excellent friends with the late chief Granajh and her daughters. We do trade with them.”

“Wait,” Mipha said. “You said ‘do’, as in present tense.”

“I thought the Gerudo were all massacred?” Sidon murmured, staring at Dune in question.

Dune appeared nervous before he laughed, rubbing the back of his neck. “Well, you see…”

* * *

Zelda sighed as they continued to trek their way through the shifting ankle-deep sand.

The sun was beating down on them and even though she held Ganondorf’s jacket above her head with Link taking shelter beneath it with her she could still feel the sun’s rays piercing through it.

Ganondorf on the other hand looked bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, a spring in his step as he took the lead.

Zelda understood his enthusiasm.

He was a desert creature by nature and being amongst the heat and sand felt like a welcome home to him.

Link made a disgruntled noise as he trudged along, miserable in the heat of the desert.

Zelda was sympathetic. She was getting sweaty in her clothes and hoped to find some shade soon.

“Look, a Voltfruit cactus!” Ganondorf called, pointing to a three-armed cactus that bore two spiked, red fruits.

“That’s…great….”

Ganondorf plucked one of the fruits, peeling off the husk to reveal a pale, sticky flesh beneath it. He held it out to Zelda. “Try it.”

Reluctantly, Zelda handed the jacket to Link so she could grab the fruit. She took a bite and was surprised the fruit was juicy and mildly sweet.

Ganondorf grinned. “Good, huh?”

Zelda nodded, shaking the juice off her hands then taking shelter under the jacket once more.

“You can also eat the flesh of the cactus and drink the water in it. You have to be careful though since there are copycat Voltfruit cacti.”

 **How do you tell the difference?** Link asked as Ganondorf peeled the second fruit.

“The fruit. The copycat is green.” Ganondorf handed the fruit to Link. “But when you’re dying of dehydration, you don’t really double-check colors.”

As Link devoured the Voltfruit, they continued on their way towards the ruins.

Along the way, Ganondorf would pause to point something out, explaining about it in detail before they continued walking.

What would have taken a half hour took an hour longer because Zelda didn’t have the heart to ruin Ganondorf’s good mood.

“You know a lot about the desert,” Zelda said as the ruins began to loom in the distance. “How come? The desert surely isn’t _that_ similar to the past ones.”

“When I was younger, I would join Draco in the market. I bought several books on the desert.” Ganondorf shrugged. “Now I know why I was fascinated with it.”

The ruins were tall walls made of what appeared to sandstone. Sections of the walls were broken, crumbled to the ground. Barely visible tapestries hung on either side of the entrance, flapping miserably in the wind.

As they passed through the entrance, Zelda realized the ruins were a _town_. She gazed around in awe.

What were once canals of water had dried up with the years. Palm trees withered. What appeared to be shops lining either side of the streets were destroyed and burned, the black markings smearing with golden stone. To the left was what seemed to be a pen filled with sand and Zelda wondered what sort of animal it had held. Crumbled in the middle of the roadway was an enormous boulder with a stem at the end.

As Zelda moved around it to see the rest of the town, she saw that it had once been connected to the building at the far end of the town center and must have fallen over from some sort of force.

Zelda shot a glance at Ganondorf to see his reaction. She could tell by the way it was built that it had to be Gerudo.

They were standing in the husk of the home Ganondorf had been stolen from.

Ganondorf was staring at the building in front of them impassively before he began to walk towards it.

Zelda quietly let him.

“I’ll check out this side,” she whispered to Link, gesturing to the left.

Link nodded.

The inside of the town was inexplicably cooler than the surrounding desert, but Zelda kept Ganondorf’s jacket wrapped around herself.

Ganondorf slowly climbed the crumbling steps leading into the building at the back of the city, the hairs on his arms standing up as he took in a deep breath.

Two statues guarded the building’s entrance but were broken off at the legs.

Looking off to the side of the stairs, Ganondorf saw the shattered mess of the remaining statues. He could make out what appeared to be a broad sword and facial features that reminded him of a Gerudo warrior.

Gerudo warrior statues watching the entrance made Ganondorf think that the person beyond was important.

As he passed through the threshold, he saw four more statues in similar states of disarray. A broken chair sat at the back, near openings that offered a view of the desert.

Ganondorf moved closer, his footsteps shifting into something soft.

He felt like he was disturbing a grave and it made him uneasy.

Faded, swirling Gerudo script was carved into the back of the chair.

Ganondorf ran his fingers down the broken piece as he tried to read what it said.

The written Gerudo language rarely changed as the people themselves were just as stubborn.

**_Gerudo. A resilient desert flower, facing the sun’s gaze. Gerudo grows brilliant while others fade._ **

Ganondorf patted the stone gently as he stood up. “May the flames of Din light your way to peace.”

To the left was what appear to be the barracks. Ganondorf could see smashed spears and shattered weapon racks. To the right was a sand pit with a chair. It appeared to be a pen but Ganondorf couldn’t tell what it held. Stairs went up to the left so Ganondorf climbed them, entering a bedroom.

The bed was decimated, the posters broken. Everything was covered in dust. As Ganondorf came in further, he saw a smashed crib and burnt toys scattered around.

The dust coating the floor crackled under his feet as Ganondorf approached the crib, picking up one of the toys.

It was small and round and as Ganondorf brushed off the dust and soot he saw that it appeared to be brown in color with tusks and shiny obsidian gem eyes.

Rubbing it with his thumbs, Ganondorf gazed around the room.

He spotted something against the bed and set the toy gently on the floor before approaching the bed.

Even with dust covering it, the skeleton stuck out like a sore thumb.

Ganondorf took a step back in surprise, grabbing the handle of one of his swords as he waited for the Stalfos to leap at him.

When it remained still, Ganondorf relaxed and shifted a bit closer to the skeleton.

Faded jewlery decorated its arms and neck. What appeared to be a sword wound to the forehead was the obvious cause of death. The ribs were broken, but they were too clean to be an injury and Ganondorf realized that the person had been stabbed as well.

As Ganondorf leaned closer, he saw that there appeared to be something in the skeleton’s hand. He knew it was wrong to disturb a body, but he was curious.

Gently prying open the skeleton’s hand, Ganondorf pulled out the small piece of paper. It was faded but he could see it was a picture with a young woman holding an infant.

The woman had long red hair tied in a high ponytail and jewlery decorated her body. The ornate golden crown threaded into her hair indicated she was high stature.

Flipping the picture over, Ganondorf could see faded Gerudo written on the back.

**_Chief Naboris and her newborn son…._ **

Ganondorf squinted but he could make out the rest of the letters.

As Ganondorf went to place the picture back with the skeleton where it belonged, the sockets of the skull lit up gold.

They locked gaze with Ganondorf then grabbed his wrist, bones digging into his skin.

**_My son…_ **

Ganondorf tried to jerk away from the skeleton’s grasp but fell still when a memory was shoved into his mind.

_He was running up the stairs into the bedroom._

_Outside, the crackling of fires and crashing of demolished stone could barely be heard above the fighting._

_The infant was crying his crib and he had to make sure the child was safe._

_“It’s all right, my little desert sun. Mom is going to protect you.”_

_As he reached down to pick the child up, he could feel the steel piecing though his back and out though the front of his chest when it pulled out, he grabbed the bleeding wound and stumbled away from the crib, facing the assailant._

_At the threshold stood Rhoam, wielding a polished saber._

_He cursed at the king in Gerudo as Rhoam lunged forward._

* * *

Zelda sighed as she wandered through what appeared to be a bar, being careful of the shattered glass that practically coated the floor. So far, she hadn’t found anything that indicated someone lived there.

If there was any information on a temple, she was sure it had long since been destroyed.

With a sigh, Zelda left the bar and she paused as she passed through the doorway, realizing that the sun above had disappeared.

Looking up, she saw what appeared to be a storm swirling above the town, the epicenter above the building that Ganondorf had gone into.

The taste of ozone was palpable and as Zelda made a beeline for the building, a bolt of lightning struck the ground several feet away.

Link had seen the storm as well and was already near the building, staring up at the storm as more lighting crackled, charging the air with electricity.

“What’s going on?” Zelda asked, shielding her eyes as the wind picked up, sand swirling around.

Link shook his head with a shrug. **Don’t know. It just appeared.**

“Gan’s in there. We need to check it out.”

Link nodded.

Together, they headed into the building and began to search for Ganondorf. The wind was stronger inside the building, lightning striking more often.

Zelda pointed to the stairs leading to another floor and they headed up them, coming into a room where Ganondorf was kneeling.

Zelda was surprised that the strange electrical sandstorm appeared to be originating from him, wind spinning around his feet as electricity crackled around his body.

Zelda held up a hand at Link to keep him back then moved around Ganondorf to see what he was kneeling by.

It didn’t take a genius to realize the skeleton was his mother, the picture Ganondorf gripped in his hands of a woman with a baby.

Ganondorf’s eyes were charged with a bright gold light, but it wasn’t a Malice light.

Still, Zelda was cautious so as not to startle him.

“Gan?” Zelda set a hand on his arm, ignoring the tingling sensation from the sparks. “Gan.”

“He killed her,” Ganondorf mumbled, not looking at Zelda or anything. “Stabbed her in the _back_.”

Zelda knew Ganondorf was talking about Rhoam. She hadn’t even thought about the possibility that he had personally had a role in the killings. Rarely did a king bloody their own hands.

“He killed all of them.”

“I-I know,” Zelda whispered. “It was an awful thing to do. It was brought about by fear and hatred and misunderstanding. It should never have happened.”

“I should kill him.”

“Gan, no. You’re better than revenge. You know that and I know that. Revenge would only beget more hatred then more revenge. It would start a cycle that wouldn’t end.”

Ganondorf slowly looked at her and Zelda knew she was getting through to him.

“You can’t change the past. All you can do is make a better future. Do you really think your mother would want you to take revenge for her and her people?”

Ganondorf glanced down at the picture in his hands.

He should have felt anger and the thirst for revenge that he could take against Rhoam, rightfully, for everything that the man had done. But revenge lead down a dark path and Ganondorf was too far into the light to step into those shadows.

All Ganondorf felt now was exhaustion and sorrow.

The wind slowly died down until it stopped completely and the electricity disappeared.

Ganondorf gripped the photo tighter as he began to shake. “She didn’t deserve to be left here…she deserved a warrior’s burial.”

“I know.” Zelda set a hand against the back of his neck to pull him closer.

Ganondorf did exactly as she expected, wrapping his arms around her and gripping her tightly, beginning to sob.

Link came up to them, kneeling down and placing a hand on Ganondorf’s back.

Astrid appeared between Ganondorf and Zelda with a miserable rattle, snuggling against him to offer her own comfort.

* * *

After a while, once Ganondorf had calmed down, they figured out what they were going to do.

Ganondorf didn’t want to move his mother’s body yet. He wasn’t sure where the tombs were and didn’t want to be disrespectful to her spirit.

He did however take the picture and the small seal toy, setting them in the pocket of his jacket which Zelda had returned to him.

Astrid left a Korok flower in Naboris’s hand to offer comfort for her.

Then they left the room quietly.

Zelda glanced up at Ganondorf as they walked silently.

He looked more tired than anything and she didn’t blame him.

That had been a lot to absorb in such a short amount of time.

“What do you think we should do now?” She asked. “I don’t think this place had any information on the temple.”

“I don’t either,” Ganondorf muttered. “But perhaps there is something of use.”

Link nodded. **Maybe. Where would we go after this?**

Ganondorf hummed, taking out his map to look at it. He pointed to a spot. “The Arbiter’s Grounds. That was a temple during the Twilight Era. It may be a temple still.”

“Are you sure it’s the temple we have to go to?” Zelda asked.

Ganondorf shook his head. “No. But it’s all we have to go on.”

Zelda glanced at Link who shrugged.

He couldn’t complain with Ganondorf’s logic. It was at least worth checking out.

With little more to do, the three decided to explore the decimated town a bit more to see if they found anything of interest.

Everything was in poor shape and there appeared to be nothing of interest. If there had once been anything it was quite possible that it had been burned in the raid.

Ganondorf sighed as he looked up at the slowly setting sun. “I believe we should rest. It will be too cold and dangerous to travel the sands at night.”

Zelda nodded.

They had wasted a day in the town that once held the Gerudo, but she supposed it wasn’t truly a waste. It was Ganondorf’s home after all.

As they sat down, Link pointed to something he had seen in a corner. **I spotted something shiny.**

“What is it with you and shiny stuff?” Ganondorf mumbled, standing reluctantly with Zelda.

They followed Link to what he had seen and the blond pointed it out.

Sitting in the corner harmlessly was a gold bangle inlaid with ruby and sapphire gems. It was polished to an impeccable sheen.

“A bracelet?” Zelda asked, reaching for the bangle.

Ganondorf grabbed her wrist. “Whoa, wait. Doesn’t this scream suspicious? Look at how shiny it is compared to everything else. It’s obviously a trap used to lure idiots and thieves.”

“Then Link is a certified idiot,” Zelda said, pointing to Link with her free hand.

Ganondorf whiled to see that Link had grabbed the bangle. “ _Link_!”

Link gave a shrug, appearing confused at the response to an obviously easy way to make money.

As the bangle was removed from its resting place, Ganondorf could see the razor thin wire attached to it.

Before he could tell them that he was right, there was a thud from beneath them before the floor slid out from underneath their feet, dropping them into a tube.

The inside of the tube was made from sandstone and slicked with oil to prevent any way to stop their descent.

Ganondorf didn’t even know how deep they were going before they were dropped into a net. He grunted when Zelda and Link landed on top of him and they became a mess of limbs as he tried to grab a sword to cut them free.

“Can you not be money hungry for ten seconds, Link?!”

Link gave a whine as he was elbowed in the face.

“Tajamad!”

At the sharp voice, the three stopped shoving and looked to see two females standing nearby, spears pointed at them.

The two were dressed identically in lightweight clothes, their red hair tied up in ponytails. One of the women had a deep brown tan while the other was lighter in color.

“Wasalna thlatht hadhih almara,” the woman on the left muttered.

The second one nodded. “Athnan voe we vai.”

Ganondorf understood the women’s language.

Gerudo was a hard language to forget with its lilting, gritty tongue like the rasping desert sand.

These two women couldn’t possibly be…they had all been murdered…right?

“Hal’ant Gerudo?”

The two women appeared surprised at Ganondorf speaking in their tongue, glancing at each other before looking back at him.

“Kayf tatakalam lughatina?” one asked, narrowing her eyes suspiciously.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just because I probably butchered it and so you guys don't have to translate Arabic, here's the basic translations in order  
> -Halt/Freeze  
> -We have three idiots  
> -two voe and a vai  
> -are you Gerudo?  
> -How do you speak our language?  
> Comments are my lifeblood :)


	27. Arc 1: The Gerudo

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you guys are prepared for a long haul. I did extra summaries so I wouldn't have to do them at every chapter. I stopped at chapter 40. And that wasn't even near the end of Arc 1. :)

“Do you speak Hylian?” Ganondorf asked, knowing that Zelda and Link didn’t understand a word he and the two Gerudo were saying.

They glanced at each other before one move forward to lower the net, opening it.

“Yes. My name is Barta and this is Teake.”

Teake gave a grunt as she straightened, relaxing her stance. “Now, tell us how you speak Gerudo.”

Ganondorf brushed himself off then reached into his pocket, taking out the photo and showing it to the two women.

Barta stared at it closely then looked at Ganondorf. “And?”

“There was a massacre 18 years ago. A child was stolen. A boy.”

Teake stared at Ganondorf for several seconds before she looked at Zelda and Link. “And who are these two Hylians?”

“My friends.”

“My name is Zelda,” Zelda greeted with a quick bow. “A pleasure to meet you.”

 **Link,** Link signed, giving a wave.

“I would like to see your chief and speak with them,” Ganondorf murmured. “Please.”

Teake and Barta glanced at each other before they both nodded.

Ganondorf gave a bow, hand against his chest to show extreme respect. “Sarqso.”

The two Gerudo turned and lead the three down a tunnel lit with luminous stones.

Zelda gazed around in awe when the tunnel opened up into a cavernous area.

Rounded homes jutted out from the walls on all sides on three levels. Colorful tapestries with the Gerudo symbol hung from every window. The air smelled of warm safflina and dried electric safflina leaves. Small stalls were scattered around, holding mushrooms or cuts of meat. Zelda wondered how they had gotten ahold of precious resources like that.

The Gerudo that were milling and going about their daily lives paused to stare curiously at the newcomers. Children stuck close to their mothers, peeking around their legs nervously.

Ganondorf gazed at the Gerudo in disbelief.

They were 80 strong. Possibly more.

Beneath the sands, they had stayed safe from potential threats. His people still _thrived._

A few Gerudo joined the group, following from a distance to see what was going on.

Ganondorf could hear them whispering in Gerudo, wondering who they were and what they were doing there.

Barta and Teake parted to either side at a large building decorated with Gerudo flags and etched with warrior pictures.

It was similar to the building Ganondorf had found his mother’s body in and he knew that this was the chief’s building.

Teake and Barta remained outside as Ganondorf, Zelda and Link entered. A few curious Gerudo poked their heads past the tow guards’ weapons to watch.

Sitting on a throne was a woman in her late thirties with long red hair tied in a ponytail. At her hip was an ornate round shield and wicked scimitar. A spiked, gold crown was threaded through her hair.

Ganondorf stared at the woman in incredulity.

She was an exact copy of his mother and he couldn’t help but take in a shuddering breath. Had he been wrong? Perhaps that skeleton hadn’t been his mother and his grief had caused him to become delusional?

“M-mother?”

The woman raised an eyebrow. “Mother?”

After staring at Ganondorf for several seconds, the woman stood from her seat, eyes widening.

“Arun? Is that really you?”

“A-Arun?” Ganondorf asked as the woman stepped closer to him. “I’m sorry, my name is Ganondorf…”

“No, your mother named you Arun, after the sun….” The woman set her hands on Ganondorf’s cheeks. “Because you were the light of her life.”

“Aren’t you….?”

“No….Naboris was my twin sister. My name is Urbosa.”

“My…aunt?”

Urbosa nodded as she continued to stare at ganondorf with a somber smile. “Look how handsome you are. She would be so proud of you…”

“Can you….tell me about her?”

“In time, Arun. Now, tell me what brings you here.” Urbosa dropped her hands and stepped back to look at the three. Her gaze lingered on Zelda and Zelda ducked her head.

“We didn’t mean to find you,” Ganondorf said. “I mean, it’s great we did. We’re actually searching for a temple.”

“A temple?”

“Yes. It had a spring in it. Do you know where one is?”

Urbosa hummed as she gripped her chin, tapping a foot. “Hm…a temple….well, there may be one in the Arbiter’s Grounds. I’m not sure if it has a spring, though. It’s a sacred place to our people, after all. History says one of our Kings was executed there, you know.”

Ganondorf gave a slight grimace at the reminder, rubbing his chest a bit. “I’m…aware.”

He looked at Zelda and Link. “Told you the Arbiter’s Grounds was a good place to try.”

Zelda rolled her eyes, giving an exasperated look.

Urbosa stared at her before she said, “Not to be rude, young lady, but are you not King Rhoam’s daughter?”

Zelda tensed up, realizing that Urbosa could still want revenge for what happened to her people, and quickly bowed. “I’m sorry for what happened! If I had known—”

“You needn’t apologize nor bow to me,” Urbosa murmured, setting a hand on Zelda’s shoulder. “You weren’t even born yet. What happened is not your fault.”

“This is Link,” Ganondorf said, gesturing to Link. “Another friend of mine.”

“You’re friends with the Princess of Hyrule and this fine warrior?” Urbosa hummed, grinning at Ganondorf. “What good friends you have.”

“They’re the best friends I could ask for.”

Zelda smiled then noticed a pair of eyes watching them from around the corner of the throne. She gave a slight wave and they disappeared.

Urbosa looked where Zelda had her attention and called, “Come out and don’t be shy, Riju. I have someone important for you to meet.”

Gradually, a young girl reaching to Urbosa’s chest came out from behind the throne, trotting over to Urbosa and grabbing her around the waist. She glared at the three in front of her. “Who are they, Mama? Are they going to kick us out?”

“Of course not, vehvi. This is Naboris’s son, Ganondorf. He’s your cousin.”

Riju stared at Ganondorf suspiciously.

“And his friends, Zelda and Link. Be nice to them, now.”

“If you say so, Mama…”

Ganondorf wondered how he could gain Riju’s trust before he knelt to the ground, taking out the toy from his jacket.

Riju gasped, her eyes becoming huge. “You have a sand seal toy! How did you get one?”

“From the town ruins. In the chief’s room. It was mine, when I was a baby, but you can have it if you want. I’m a bit too old for this.”

A wide grin crossed Riju’s face and she lunged forward to snatch the toy from Ganondorf, holding it up high to stare at it. “It’s so adorable! I’m gonna name is Seally!”

Ganondorf chuckled as Riju ran off with her new toy, straightening.

“You all must be hungry,” Urbosa said, smiling at the three before she clapped her hands to get the attention of the eavesdropping Gerudo. “My people, the son of my sister, late Chief Naboris, has returned to us!”

A few Gerudo old enough to have fought in the raid or remember it began to murmur amongst themselves as they crowded around Ganondorf.

They were slightly taller than him which should have bothered him, but he was used to looking down rather than up.

Ganondorf smiled as all the Gerudo who knew his mother touched his arms reverently, murmuring blessings in Gerudo.

Everything in him was calm. He was back where he belonged.

* * *

“It took ten attempts for Naboris to final capture Patricia. That sand seal was so feisty and wild, it refused to be tamed.”

Ganondorf chuckled as Urbosa continued to tell tales of Naboris’s exploits while everyone ate around a large table.

The food, Urbosa said, had been gathered by Desert Zora who brought whatever they needed.

There were cooked meats spiced with dried warm safflina leaves, sautéed mushrooms of various kinds, slices of fresh hydromelon and hearty durian.

Incense barely overpowered the scent of the food.

All the Gerudo sat on the floor on soft mats, passing the food from one member to the other until everyone had filled their plates. A strong drink that smelled of wildberries was passed around in a large jar to be poured into their glasses. Zelda, Link and Ganondorf politely took a small amount to taste.

Zelda was glad Ganondorf was enjoying himself.

Link was having fun as well though she imagined it was because of all the food laid out before them.

Zelda took a sip of the Noble Pursuit and nearly coughed at the overpowering tartness that flooded her tongue underlined with the taste of hydromelon and Voltfruit.

It wasn’t a drink that she would become fond of.

“So, my nephew,” Urbosa said after taking a long drink of her Noble Pursuit. “As you are my sister’s son, you are the rightful heir to the throne.”

Ganondorf blinked, setting down a roasted bird thigh. “Huh?”

“Will you be our chief?”

Chief? They wanted him to lead them?

Ganondorf glanced at Zelda and Link.

Zelda appeared concerned at the topic they were on, hands clenched.

Link was still eating, but side-eyeing him, gauging his reaction.

 ** _Take it,_** an insidious voice whispered inside him. **Take it. Take the throne. Take it!**

“I…can’t.”

Urbosa raised an eyebrow as Ganondorf looked at her.

“I’m sorry, but we still have a few temples to do and two mazes. I can’t accept your offer.”

Urbosa slowly nodded. “I see…”

Riju covered Seally’s eyes as she grinned at Ganondorf like he had just made a huge mistake.

Despite the alcohol buzzing in his system, Ganondorf’s reflexes were fast, and he leaped back and to his feet when Urbosa made a swipe at him with her scimitar.

“What the hell?!”

Urbosa pointed her blade Ganondorf. “Per Gerudo law, I will fight you for the right to the throne!”

“You have it! You’ve had it for 18 years!”

“Because we thought you dead. With you still alive, the throne is yours by birthright. By Gerudo law, if you reject that birthright, I can fight to prove my worth to ascend the throne.”

Ganondorf groaned.

Law, law, law. Ugh.

“Can’t I just give it to you?”

“No! If you refute my battle or forfeit, then you will no longer be considered a Gerudo. We are warriors above all else and to reject that is to forfeit yourself.”

Ganondorf sighed, rubbing his temples.

He had only known his aunt for a short time and she wanted to fight him over a stupid _seat_ ?

However, being cast from the Gerudo—his people—was more painful than a simple fight.

“If you win, you get the throne. What happens if I win?”

“Then you can choose what you want. Whether you have changed your mind and decide to take your rightful place or you still wish to concede the seat to me or even another Gerudo you deem fit.”

It was a win-win for him either way. He would lie if he said he wasn’t itching for a fight.

“All right. I accept your challenge, Urbosa, chief of the Gerudo.”

Urbosa smiled. “We cross blades at the training yard then, Ganondorf of the Dragmires.”

The Gerudo seemed excited as they began to abandon their feast, following after Ganondorf and Urbosa.

Zelda didn’t like the idea of Ganondorf fighting for a seat he didn’t want as she and Link trailed after the crowd.

“My mom is going to kick his ass,” Riju muttered, squeezing Seally tightly. “She’s the best warrior ever.”

Zelda couldn’t blame Riju for wanting to root for her mother. She didn’t know how well Urbosa was in combat and neither did Ganondorf.

The Gerudo surrounded Urbosa and Ganondorf, creating a ring with a respectable fighting space.

“The first one to make the other yield or get them on their back first is the winner,” Urbosa said, unsheathing her scimitar and holding up her shield. “And don’t think about forfeiting after the first hit.”

“Yeah, I get the idea,” Ganondorf muttered, taking out his blades.

Urbosa eyed them impassively. “You know, it’s said one of our old Kings wield twin blades exactly like those. He was supposed to be a proficient swordsman. Let’s see if you can live up to that.”

 _I’d rather not,_ Ganondorf thought.

He didn’t want to be compared to one or more of his past lives. He wanted to be his own person.

As Urbosa shifted to the side, Ganondorf copied her so they began to circle each other, sizing each other up.

A sword and shield, just like Link. But her battle style would be extremely different. He didn’t need to beat her anyway. A small battle is all he wanted.

After a few more seconds of circling each other, Ganondorf lunged forward. His first strike was blocked as he expected. He swiped out with his second sword but Urbosa shoved her shield forward with enough force to stagger him.

She used that momentum to leap backward out of range. Then she jumped forward.

Ganondorf deflected her strike then returned with his own attack only to have it blocked with the shield.

Urbosa lashed out with another attack that Ganondorf barely blocked.

He had to step back as Urbosa continued to repeatedly lash out with him alternating between his swords to block them. After a bit, he used both swords to block another strike then thrust them out to shove Urbosa back.

With the distance, it gave Ganondorf time to think of a strategy.

She was swift, each strike with power behind it. She had trained all her life and those weapons had been created for her hands only.

He imagined magic was out of the question.

This was a battle of strength and wits.

_Let’s put her on the defensive._

Ganondorf lunged forward with both swords raised. As expected, Urbosa blocked them with her shield. Before she could shove them off, Ganondorf began to strike the shield repeatedly, forcing Urbosa to keep it steady.

After a few strikes, Urbosa had to take a step back to keep her balance. Then she shifted her weight down.

Once another sword was coming down, she thrust her shield out to meet it, the force causing the weapon to be knocked from Ganondorf’s hand.

“It seems I underestimated your strength, young Arun. You have obviously been in a few battles, if that forehead scar is any judge.”

“You don’t know the half of it,” Ganondorf muttered as he stepped back.

His sword was a ways away, but he wasn’t going to risk going to get it. He could fight just as well with one sword.

Urbosa reattached her shield so she only wielded her scimitar.

Together, the two lunged towards each other, their blades meeting with enough force to create sparks. A quick shove back then their weapons met once again.

Now it was a battle of endurance, to see who could outlast the other.

Half of Ganondorf wanted to win, but he shoved that thought back. Even though he knew he could choose whatever he wanted if he beat Urbosa, that throne being dangled in front of him tempted him.

 ** _Take the throne. Take it, take it!_** The voice screeched. **_You’re the King! You deserve it. It’s your birthright. Then you can get revenge against Rhoam for what he did._**

The image of his mother being stabbed and not having a chance to fight back against Rhoam flickered into his mind.

Ganondorf struck Urbosa’s sword harder than necessary, forcing her to stagger.

**_Take the throne. TAKE IT._ **

Before he knew it, Urbosa’s sword had been knocked from her hand and she had fallen to the ground, the point of his blade at her throat.

Urbosa held up her hand. “I yield.”

Ganondorf glanced towards Zelda and Link.

Zelda looked apprehensive, hands clasped against her chest.

Link had a hand hovering over the hilt of the Master Sword, waiting for something to happen.

**_Take the throne. TAKE IT. Take the throne!_ **

_Just shut up!_ Ganondorf snarled in his mind.

Gritting his teeth, Ganondorf lowered his sword then sheathed it. He held out his hand to help Urbosa to her feet.

Before she could say anything, Ganondorf held up her hand. “Urbosa is your chief. I hand the throne to her. Her strength will keep us protected and healthy.”

The Gerudo began to cheer, yelling out praises in Gerudo.

Ganondorf looked at Urbosa. “I’m sorry to change the subject but can you help us find the Arbiter’s Grounds?”

Urbosa smiled. “After a battle like that? I would help you with anything, my nephew.”

* * *

Urbosa lead the three down a secluded area that lead to the surface.

At the entrance stood two brown Zora.

“The Desert Zora will lead you to Palu Wasteland,” Urbosa said, gesturing to the Zora.

They waved.

“Palu Wasteland?” Ganondorf asked. “Why there?”

“To access the Arbiter’s Grounds, you need a sand seal. After the attack, the seals all scattered. The Zora have spotted them hanging there.”

“Patricia leads them,” One Zora said. “She may be willing to help since you’re related to her old master.”

“Patricia is alive?” Ganondorf murmured.

Urbosa nodded. “Sand seals live a long time, nearly as long as Zora. If you want to call her, just whistle. Palu Wasteland isn’t too far. Oasis and Heath will have you in good hands.”

Zelda looked at the two Zora, but she couldn’t tell which one was Oasis and which one was Heath. Perhaps all Desert Zora looked the same with no distinguishing characteristics.

As they were about to leave, Urbosa grabbed Ganondorf’s arm.

“Please do no leave without saying goodbye.”

Ganondorf’s gaze softened and he nodded. “Of course. I’ll bring a tale to rival my mother’s exploits.”

That got him a laugh. “Oh, you better, boy.”

Ganondorf smiled, then waved and followed after the Zora and his friends.

It was nice to be back in the sun, even if they had to squint against it.

Oasis and Heath lead them through the desert without much fanfare until they came across what had to be Palu Wasteland.

Large spines arched up from the desert sands, some broken off and others in perfect condition. A herd of twenty sand seals were scattered around, some snoozing and others playing.

At the approach, they all froze, eyes on the group. They didn’t flee though. Just watched.

Ganondorf stepped forward and gave a sharp whistle.

He wasn’t sure if he needed a specific whistle to summon Patricia or a normal one. He hoped the normal one would suffice.

It took a bit before another seal, larger than the others and grey in coloration, appeared from beneath the sand. The sand seal had scars crossing its body, even a few on its tusks.

The sand seal barked at them in warning.

Ganondorf held up a hand. “Patricia?”

The sand seal stared at Ganondorf before giving a small bark, appearing surprised. Then it barked several more times, clapping its flippers.

That had to be Patricia.

Ganondorf moved closer slowly, kneeling down so he could place a hand on the sand seal’s stiff mane. “You know me, huh?”

Patricia barked, her expression seeming to say that she would never forget her master’s pup.

“I have a favor to ask then. Do you think you and some other sand seals could lead me and my friends to the Arbiter’s Grounds?”

Patricia remained silent for a bit before she barked in agreement.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gerudo. Gerudo everywhere.  
> And yes, Gan's birth name was Arun. Guess who named him Ganondorf? RHOAM.  
> Yeah, to set him up for failure :3  
> The Arbiter's Grounds are going to be FUN. All the spoops.  
> Comments are my lifeblood :)


	28. Arc 1: Arbiter's Grounds

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So it will go back to a weekly update or bi weekly since I'm also working on another story.  
> I also have tendonitis in my right hand so typing isn't all too comfortable. I'm going to therapy for it so I hope to have it cleared it up xD  
> This isn't one of my favorite chapters *shrug*

Oasis and Heath let Zelda and Ganondorf borrow two shields before showing the three how to properly sand seal surf.

That was the only way to get to the Arbiter’s Grounds quickly. The sand seals, lead by Patricia, would show them the way without much effort.

Link seemed to get the hang of the surfing a bit quicker than Ganondorf and Zelda.

It was a combination of balance and steering.

Only when the group was sufficient at the travel method did the Desert Zora follow them, swimming through the sand as easily as a dolphin through the ocean.

“The Arbiter’s Grounds is guarded by a Molduga,” Oasis said as he swam beside Ganondorf. “It’s blind, but its hearing is unrivaled.”

“Molduga?” Zelda asked, glancing at the Zora then looking forward so she wouldn’t accidentally steer her sand seal into another rock.

“Giant beasts that swim beneath the sand,” Heath explained. “Their leather is good for weapons and armor and their guts for medicine.”

“How do you fight one?” Ganondorf asked.

Oasis laughed. “You don’t. You pray and hope it doesn’t find you.”

“Anyone who’s ever been in a battle with a Molduga hasn’t come out alive.”

“Then how do you know about its leather and insides?” Zelda asked while Link nodded, unable to sign since he was holding onto his rope.

“It takes about twenty of our people to even be a challenge to it,” Oasis said. “You’re just two Hylians and a Gerudo. What do you hope to do against it?”

“Got any bomb arrows?” Ganondorf asked with a grin. “We’ll show you that we’re not just ‘two Hylians and a Gerudo’.”

Zelda really didn’t like where Ganondorf’s thought process was going. She also didn’t like Link’s excited grin.

* * *

The Arbiter’s Grounds was completely blanketed by sand. The only indication that something lay below were the multiple rock spires that jutted from the sand.

Even from a distance Ganondorf could see the moving mound of sand that indicated the Molduga’s location.

“So, what’s the plan?” Zelda asked as she stared at the sand shifting then looked at Ganondorf. “Don’t tell me it involves getting eaten.”

“It might a bit,” Ganondorf muttered. “That Molduga is sensitive to sound. So, all we have to do is lure it aboveground.”

Link frowned, tilting his head. **How?**

“The bomb arrows.” Ganondorf pointed to a spire. “I’ll warp all three of us to that rock pillar. Link, fire an arrow at the sand. Once it’s up, I’ll warp you over the Molduga’s mouth to shoot more bomb arrows into its throat.”

**Like a Dodongo! I get it!**

Ganondorf nodded. “That should stun it long enough to attack it. Once it goes back beneath the sand, we repeat the process until its dead.”

“How do you know this will work?” Oasis sniffed, crossing his arms as he eyed the Molduga skeptically. “The Molduga could do something you don’t expect.”

“Then I’ll do something it won’t expect,” Ganondorf grumbled. “Just trust us.”

Heath and Oasis glanced at each other, very much _not_ trusting the plan before Heath dove beneath the sand.

After a few minutes, he returned with a bundle of bomb arrows, handing them to Link.

“I hope you know what you’re doing.”

 _So do I,_ Ganondorf thought as he held onto Link and Zelda’s hands tightly.

Focusing on the point in space where the rock pillar resided, Ganondorf closed his eyes and teleported.

The rock pillar was just barely large enough to hold all three of them and Ganondorf tried not to take up too much space.

Link took out a bomb arrow, notching it then firing it at the ground in front of them.

The shifting sand halted before it began to race towards them.

The rock pillar vibrated with the force of the Molduga as it came closer before finally breaching the sand.

The beast was double the size of a Hinox with an enormous mouth and useless feet, body built for sand swimming rather than walking.

Almost forgetting what they were doing at the sight of the Molduga, Ganondorf shook his head before grabbing Link around the waist. He had never teleported over a moving target before and hoped it wouldn’t end in disaster.

Visualizing the area above the Molduga’s gaping mouth, Ganondorf teleported with Link and time seemed to slow down as they appeared over their intended target.

Link notched a bomb arrow then fired it into the beast’s maw before firing several more until the spell was broken.

As the beast collapsed in the sand with a shriek, Ganondorf teleported himself and Link to the sand, their landing less than graceful.

From the safety of the rock pillar, Zelda summoned the Light Bow and a Light Arrow, beginning to fire several at the downed Molduga.

The sharp tips sunk deep into the beast’s hide.

Link began to slice at it and without thinking about it, Ganondorf snapped his fingers.

A bolt of lightning struck the Molduga, causing it to shriek and flail.

Ganondorf grabbed Link and teleported the both of them out of range as the Molduga retaliated with a swing of its tail.

 **Again,** Link said as they appeared on a rock pillar separate from Zelda.

Ganondorf nodded.

They repeated the strategy of luring the Molduga aboveground with a bomb arrow then stunning it with more. It took one more round before the Molduga finally lay dead, smoking slightly from the power of the bomb arrows.

Oasis and Heath appeared from the sand as Zelda climbed down from the pillar.

“Wow, that’s amazing!” Oasis said. “I can’t believe you actually took it down.”

Ganondorf shrugged. “Told you not to underestimate us.”

“Can we take it?” Heath asked.

“Of course.” Zelda nodded. “We don’t have a use for it.”

The two Zora appeared excited as they moved towards the Molduga.

A ways away, near the front of the Arbiter’s Grounds, the sand sunk in before splitting into two, revealing a staircase.

Link stared at it before looking at the others.

“Guess we go in,” Ganondorf said. “Come on.”

Together the three descended the stairs into the Arbiter’s Grounds, the lamps along the walls lighting themselves as they passed.

The room they came into appeared to be a tomb of some sort with skeletons laying in stone slots.

Ganondorf gazed around as Link searched for a way to open the door in front of them.

A sudden scream startled them, Ganondorf flinching and Link covering his ears.

“What the hell?!” Ganondorf snapped, glaring at Zelda. “What was that for?!”

Zelda pointed a shaky finger at something, stuttering, “Mum….mum….”

Link looked to where she was pointing and spotted what he could only assume was a ReDead in a corner. He moved closer to her, staring at it suspiciously.

Ganondorf sighed at their reaction over a corpse. “It’s just a body. Come _on_.”

Withdrawing a sword, Ganondorf moved closer to the corpse and stabbed it a few times to prove his point.

“See?” He looked back at the two. “You’re being crazy.”

Link and Zelda shook their heads simultaneously before Link suddenly pointed behind Ganondorf.

Before Ganondorf could react, something latched onto his middle in a vice grip. He was fast enough to grab the corpse’s jaws before it could sink its teeth into his neck.

“Someone kill it! It’s trying to eat me!”

Link shook his head furiously, moving behind Zelda.

Zelda rolled her eyes, taking out her bow once more and another Light Arrow. After careful aiming, she fired and the arrow sunk into the ReDead’s skull.

It shrieked, releasing Ganondorf and falling to the floor.

Ganondorf moved back towards Zelda and Link, rubbing his neck.

The death of the ReDead appeared to cause a chain reaction as the skeletons in their tombs turned their heads toward the group, red orbs lighting up their empty sockets.

“Oh, great,” Zelda muttered as she took out her sword. “Stalfos.”

“Better than whatever that thing was,” Ganondorf grumbled.

Link nodded. He could handle Stalfos. ReDead? Not so much.

As the Stalfos began to climb out of their stone beds, Ganondorf blasted several of them with fire while Zelda and Link hit the ones remaining with arrows.

It didn’t take long to dispatch all of them and once the last Stalfos had fallen still, the door opened.

Link appeared relieved. **I hope there’s no more ReDeads.**

“Me either,” Ganondorf mumbled as they moved into the next room.

The room beyond was circular with an intricate circle in the middle of the floor. Seven rooms ran around the circumference of the room with the last room blocked off by rubble.

“I wonder what we do here?” Zelda murmured, staring at the room for any sort of answer as to what they had to do.

Above each door were strange markings and Ganondorf wondered what they said before Link waved to get their attention.

He pointed to a sign that obviously gave them a clue to figuring out the puzzle.

“Turn your vices into virtues and you will be redeemed,” Zelda read. “I wonder what that means.”

“I got it,” Ganondorf said. He pointed to the plaques above the door. “See those marks? They represent the seven sins. Sloth, greed, pride, lust, wrath, envy and gluttony.”

 **So, we have to do the opposite of them?** Link asked, tilting his head.

Ganondorf nodded. “Their virtues are diligence, charity, humility, chastity, patience, kindness and temperance.”

“I wonder how we turn them into virtues,” Zelda murmured as they headed towards the room marked as wrath.

“I suppose we’ll see,” Ganondorf said. “But I guess we don’t need to worry about gluttony with it being blocked off.”

Link nodded.

They only needed to worry about six of the seven vices.

As Ganondorf passed through the doorway, a door slamming shut, blocking him from Zelda and Link.

“Gan!” Zelda called, hitting the door.

“I’m fine!” Ganondorf responded. “I just…”

He looked over his shoulder and saw a statue, beginning to approach it. It was a sage that he vaguely remembered. The statue wielded a hammer.

**_For your sin of Wrath, wyrm, you will be judged._ **

Ganondorf stepped back at the deep voice that echoed throughout the room.

An image of Ganon appeared in front of him, shrieking and bucking like a wild horse.

It took a second for Ganondorf to understand. Ganon was his wrath. Turn his vices into virtues.

 _How did Zelda calm Ganon down?_ Ganondorf wondered as he slowly approached the angered beast.

He didn’t remember the words, but he remembered the tones and tried a humming to imitate it.

It seemed to work as Ganon slowly calmed down, gazing at him, and Ganondorf reached a hand out towards the boar.

As he touched the beast, Ganon disintegrated into white petals before disappearing.

 ** _You have calmed your sin of wrath,_** the voice said, the door behind Ganondorf opening. **_But you still have more to be flipped into virtues._**

“Gan!” Zelda ran over to him, grabbing his arm. “Are you all right?”

Ganondorf nodded. “I’m fine.”

**What happened?**

“I think these are all meant for me.” Ganondorf left the room, looking at all the other sins. “To atone for my past crimes.”

“What do you mean?” Zelda asked.

“That was an old sage there. Apparently, this temple doesn’t believe I can be redeemed.”

 **The temple?** Link appeared confused, gazing at the walls.

“Everything holds memory, Link. Even temples. And this one had made tests just for me.”

“So…we just wait?” Zelda murmured, appearing put off that she couldn’t help Ganondorf with his trials.

“I’m sorry.” Ganondorf smiled. “I’m the bad guy, remember? Things aren’t going to be easy.”

Zelda remained quiet as Ganondorf went to the next one: greed.

That one had always been his most difficult one.

As the door closed behind him, Ganondorf approached the statue at the end of the room. This statue wielded a spear.

**_For your sin of Greed, you will be judged._ **

Ganondorf wasn’t surprised when he was presented with a throne chair.

Of course, it would be that. But he didn’t need it this time.

“I’m happy just to be able to be with my friends. A throne is of no interest to me. Besides, it’s rightfully Zelda’s.”

An image of Zelda appeared, decked out in royal garb and wearing a crown. She sat upon the throne and it disappeared.

**_You have slaked your sin of greed._ **

The door behind him open and Ganondorf left, making his way to the door beside it: sloth.

The door behind him remained open as Ganondorf approached the sword wielding statue.

**_Your sin of Sloth has long been rectified, wyrm. You have no challenge here._ **

Long since been rectified? Ganondorf wondered which one of his past selves hadn’t been slothful in their duties but couldn’t come up with one so he left the room.

He crossed over to the door beside the blocked one: envy.

**_I coveted that wind, I suppose._ **

_No, you were just envious._ Ganondorf figured out what he had to do to turn envy into kindness as he approached the statue that wielded a bow.

**_For your sin of Envy, you will be judged._ **

He could feel the breeze around him and closed his eyes. He had grown up with the gentle wind of Hyrule this time and was no longer envious of it.

“This wind shouldn’t be hoarded by one person. It should be appreciated and shared by everyone.”

The wind disappeared and the door opened.

**_You have rectified your sin of envy._ **

As Ganondorf left the room, he looked at the two remaining ones before entering pride.

That one would be trouble, he was certain of it.

The door didn’t close behind him and Ganondorf wondered how he could possibly have ever been humble.

**_Your sin has been rectified by recent actions. Move forth to the last sin._ **

Hmm. Oh. He was humble before the Great Deku Tree.

 _That counted?_ Ganondorf wondered as he made his way to the last room.

He was just being polite.

 _I don’t think I’ll understand any of this,_ Ganondorf thought as the door closed behind him and he was presented with a statue wielding a claymore.

**_For your sin of Lust, you will be judged._ **

Ganondorf glanced around when nothing immediately appeared. When he looked back at the statue, a shadowy form stood there.

He didn’t recognize it and realized it was neither his past selves nor Demise.

It was as large as the statue with wings spread from its back and horns jutting from its forehead.

Ganondorf took a step back when the shadow opened its eye, staring into the gaze of the Malice’s true form.

**_I think we’re going to be good friends._ **

“I don’t need your charity,” Ganondorf spat at the Malice. “If I want power, I’ll do it on my own. Without your help. And if I ever go too deep, I know my friends will pull me back.”

The form of the Malice growled at him, leaning down. **_You thirst for my power, wyrm. I know you do. You’re practically salivating._**

Ganondorf withdrew his swords. “You want to test that, parasite?”

The second the malice lunged, Ganondorf charge, his swords easily slicing into it. When the Malice tried grabbing him, Ganondorf vaulted over the grab, stabbing his swords into the back of the shadow’s neck.

**_Take my power!_ **

“No.”

The shadow disappeared and Ganondorf landed on his feet.

**_Go face your final challenge, wyrm._ **

The door opened.

“Are you done?” Zelda asked when Ganondorf came out.

Ganondorf nodded. “Yep. That wasn’t too difficult.”

 **We still have the boss,** Link reminded.

“The boss will be easily taken care of by all three of us.”

Zelda appeared amused at Ganondorf’s enthusiasm.

The circle in the center of the room opened up, revealing a set of spiral stairs swirling downward.

The three made their way down, coming into a room that was enormous with the only thing there being a pile of bones.

“I take it we need to fight some sort of Stalfos,” Zelda muttered before the bones could even arrange themselves.

The Stalfos beast was vaguely boar-shaped with horns atop its head and sharp tips along its spine. A long tail was ended in four curved spikes.

As the beast roared, purple flames sprung up around its feet and down its spine. When it sprayed a miasma mist at the three, they all dove to separate sides, not eager to see what the miasma would do if they breathed it in.

Link fired a few arrows at it, but they bounced off the bones.

Ganondorf spotted a jewel in the center of the beast’s ribcage and pointed to it. “Weak spot!”

The question was getting to the jewel without being sprayed by miasma or being attacked.

Link fired a bomb arrow at the Stalfos to distract it and once it turned towards him, Zelda summoned a Light Arrow.

She aimed carefully then released the arrow. It slid between two ribs, striking the gem.

The Stalfos shrieked and its body collapsed, completely exposing its weak point.

Zelda wasted no time in repeatedly striking it with Light Arrows while Link fired a few more bomb arrows.

After a bolt of lightning struck the gem, the Stalfos reformed itself, rearing up with a shriek.

Ganondorf took advantage to rush the Stalfos, leaping onto one of its legs before jumping into the ribcage. He struck the gem with a sword, driving it in as deep as possible.

The Stalfos once again separated and Ganondorf moved back.

“On three!” he said, looking at Zelda and Link.

The two nodded, Light Arrow and bomb arrow aimed at the gem.

“Three!”

The two arrows hit the gem as a bolt of lightning did.

The combined force cracked the gem before it shattered.

A door at the far end of the room opened up.

“I think we’re becoming too strong for this,” Zelda laughed. “That was easy.”

“Don’t jinx it,” Ganondorf muttered, eyeing the bone pile as they made their way to the door.

 **I want more of a challenge.** Link frowned, annoyed at the shortness of the battle.

Ganondorf sighed. He really didn’t want a challenge. He just wanted to get to the springs.

The room beyond held the spring and without much fanfare, the three walked into it.

* * *

_“I say we go to Lake Hylia first.”_

_“And I say that’s a stupid idea. The closest area is that one over there.”  
_

_"But that isn’t where the next temple is!”_

_“Closest places beat the place with a temple!”_

_He gave a heavy sigh at Midna’s weak argument, pinching the bridge of his nose. “You’re just my shadow now. So, I get to choose.”_

_“You have no sense of direction…”_

_“Yeah?!” He began to stomp on his shadow as Midna laughed. “Who’s the one with no sense of direction now?! I’m stomping on you! I’m stomping on you, stupid shadow imp!”_

_If a few people noticed him stomping on his shadow while talking to himself, they quickly moved on._

* * *

_“You really shouldn’t force me to come to your chambers so you’ll eat, Your Highness,” he muttered as he knocked on the door._

_“It’s my castle. I can do as I please.”_

_“No, it’s_ **_my_ ** _castle now!”_

_“Because you stole it from me!”_

_He growled deep in his chest at her defiance before dropping the tray of food by the door. “Fine. Be that way. Starve for all I care! That’s one less light for me to take care of!”_

_He stormed off._

_Once he was gone, the door opened and she looked down the hallway where he had gone. “How many cycles before this ends?”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to all my new reviewers xD I hope you still like it  
> Comments are my life blood :)


	29. Arc 1: A Hinox Problem

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guess who's back to writing this? I am!  
> It's short and crappy but here you guys go :)  
> And happy new year!

As the group came out of the Arbiter’s Grounds, Ganondorf noticed that Heath and Oasis were waiting for them along with Patricia and the two sand seals.

“Is there something you need?” he asked, tilting his head a bit.

The Molduga corpse was gone and he assumed the desert Zora had taken it back to their home.

“Our leader, Sandstorm, wanted us to thank you on his behalf,” Heath said with an incline of his head. “And that if you needed us for anything else, we will be eager to help you.”

Ganondorf looked at Zelda and Link.

Link shrugged then signed **Do you know about any mazes in the desert?**

“Mazes?” Oasis asked, glancing at Heath. “Do we know of any mazes?”

“I believe they’re talking about the one past Champion’s Gate.” Heath pointed towards the east. “It’s just past the East Barrens. We can take you there.”

“That would be appreciated, thank you,” Zelda murmured as she headed over to her sand seal.

Once the other two had stepped on their shields and were ready to go, the two Zora began to lead them in the direction of the maze.

It wasn’t too far from where the Arbiter’s Grounds lay, the sloping entrance becoming visible quickly.

“Just be careful,” Oasis said. “I’ve heard there’s something nasty in that maze.”

“We’ve taken down a Molduga,” Ganondorf said, patting Patricia. “I think we can handle it.”

Heath and Oasis glanced at each other but didn’t comment on it.

“Then we’ll leave you three to it,” Heath said.

Together, he and Oasis dove beneath the sand, leaving the group alone.

Leaving the sand seals by the entrance, Ganondorf, Zelda and Link made their way onto solid land.

The maze was surrounded by sheer cliff walls, blocking it from easy view along ground level. The walls of the maze, intricate and carved with the symbols of the boar, loomed as they turned the corner.

“What do you think is in there?” Zelda asked, all three of them hesitating to go into the maze.

“It can’t be worse than facing your fears, right?” Ganondorf shrugged.

** A Lynel,  ** Link said. **A Lynel is worse.**

“Well, hopefully it won’t be a Lynel,” Zelda muttered.

Facing a Lynel in such a tight, twisting space? That was a hard pass.

There was a noise from nearby and Ganondorf looked up to see a large boar standing on one of the cliffs, staring down at them.

The boar was a muted brown with short tusks. Swirling blue marks stood out on its shoulders and haunches as well as some spikes that Ganondorf couldn’t tell were bone or fur.

The boar leaped from the cliff, landing on the walls of the maze, blocking the three from entering.

“Vepar,” Zelda said softly. “The boar god of power.”

“You sure do know how to keep a god waiting, don’t you?” Vepar grumbled, snorting and shaking his head. “Give me the scale of the fire dragon.”

Ganondorf reached into his pocket to pull out Dinraal’s scale, holding it out to Vepar.

Vepar reached down a hoof, the scale set on top of it then flicked it towards the maze’s center.

A shaft of light shot up.

Vepar snorted, giving a nod before staring down at the three. “Good luck. You’re going to need it.”

With that, Vepar jumped onto the nearest cliff wall before leaping into the desert below, disappearing.

** I don’t like him,  ** Link said, appearing put off at the god’s behavior.

“We don’t have to like him,” Ganondorf said. “We just need to complete the maze to see what’s at the center.”

“Then I guess we go in?” Zelda asked, looking into the maze’s entrance nervously.

Ganondorf nodded, beginning to walk into the maze.

Zelda and Link followed close behind him.

After taking a few turns, they came to a dead end.

“Should we split up?” Zelda asked while they retraced their steps.

“We don’t know what’s in here.”

** It would take less time for us to find the center if we split up,  ** Link suggested.

Zelda gasped, grabbing Ganondorf’s arm. “You could teleport us there.”

“It only works if I know where the center is and what it looks like.”

Zelda wilted. “Oh.”

**It was worth a shot,** Link said, patting Zelda’s arm.

Zelda sighed with a nod.

Link was right. She had to ask.

“So, are we back to splitting up?”

“No splitting up,” Ganondorf said sharply, shooting a look at the two. “We don’t know what lurks in here.”

**I would like it to be a few Bokoblins,** Link said.

“Keese are easier,” Zelda muttered. “Maybe Keese.”

While the two continue to decide what monster they would rather face, Ganondorf paused when he sensed something.

“Gan?” Zelda asked when she noticed the serious look on Ganondorf’s face.

Ganondorf held up his hand with a quiet ‘shh’. He stared at the ground, watching the pebbles shift rhythmically.

As he was about to point it out, a lumbering form came around the corner and Zelda gasped.

What had come around the corner was a Hinox but it was a silver one.

“I thought silver Hinox didn’t exist,” Zelda whispered as the Hinox set its sights on them.

“Tell that to him,” Ganondorf said, looking for another route to avoid the Hinox.

The maze didn’t offer much in the way of space for fighting and the Hinox’s bulk just barely fit between the walls.

Ganondorf pointed down a hall. “This way.”

The three bolted down the hall, avoiding the Hinox as it made a grab for them.

With an annoyed grumble, the Hinox followed then, still trying to grab them.

The group took sharp turns down any opening that they saw, hoping they wouldn’t run into a dead end with the Hinox on their tail.

“Shouldn’t we kill it?” Zelda asked as they turned down another hallway. “Then we wouldn’t have to keep running.”

“In what space, Zelda?” Ganondorf snapped. “We don’t have the room to take it on.”

** Well we have to do something,  ** Link signed, appearing aggravated. He took out his bow and an arrow, turning to fire it into the Hinox’s eye.

The Hinox shrieked, covering its eye as it staggered before falling down.

Link took the advantage to skid to a stop, unsheathing the Master Sword and charging at the Hinox.

Ganondorf gave an annoyed growl, throwing up his hands before he unsheathed his swords.

Zelda took out the Light Bow and a Light Arrow, ready to support the two from a distance.

After a few blows to the Hinox’s feet and legs, the Hinox stood up with a growl, staring down at the two close to it.

Ganondorf and Link moved out of range when the Hinox attempted to stomp them.

While it was distracted, Zelda fired the Light Arrow into the Hinox’s eye.

When it collapsed again, Ganondorf and Link were back to slashing it again.

Even with the small amount of fighting space, the three managed to beat the Hinox with their plan in place.

Once it was dead, the trio breathed a sigh of relief.

After sheathing his sword, Ganondorf cuffed Link on the back of the head. “That was completely stupid and reckless.”

**I was tired of running!** Link whined, pouting at him.

“I don’t care. The center of the maze would have offered more space for fighting.”

“And if we had run into a dead end?” Zelda asked, crossing her arms.

“Then we would have taken it on since we had no choice. Until that happened, we should have kept on running.” Ganondorf sighed, before shaking his head. “Never mind. Let’s just keep going.”

As Ganondorf continued walking, Zelda and Link glanced at each other.

Link gave a shrug then followed after Ganondorf. He didn’t care what Ganondorf thought; now they could wander the maze at their leisure.

Zelda sighed, deciding to remain quiet.

At last now they weren’t running for their lives.

After a while of wandering the twists and turns of the maze, the three were relieved to finally see the halls open up to the maze center. The pedestal in the middle of the room was empty.

“It…doesn’t have anything?” Ganondorf muttered, looking around for any sort of mechanism that could open up something hidden.

** So, we did this for nothing? ** Link asked, appearing to be torn between frustrated and disappointed.

“No. There has to be something,” Zelda said, searching for something that told them what they had to do.

Ganondorf looked at the top of the pedestal, seeing indents that looked like the molds of two swords. He hummed, running his fingers down the sides of the indents before unsheathing his swords. He set one in the mold and the other beside it.

The sword etched with Koume became blanketed in red light while the other one, Kotake, glowed blue.

“What’s going on?” Zelda asked, noticing the glowing swords.

Once the glow faded, Ganondorf picked the swords up, looking them over. He didn’t see anything different.

** What do they do now?  ** Link wondered, staring at the swords.

“Not sure,” Ganondorf muttered.

Did they get stronger? Or was something added to them?

Curious, Ganondorf scraped the swords together and they immediately flared to life.

Flames dripped from Koume while ice particles floated from Kotake’s blade.

“Whoa!” Zelda gasped.

** They have magic!  ** Link signed, awed at the magic-imbued blades.

“Koume, witch of fire. And Kotake, witch of ice,” Ganondorf muttered. “Of course. The maze gave my blades more power.”

“So…” Zelda murmured, crossing her arms. “If the maze of wisdom gave me the Light Bow and the maze of power strengthened your blades. Does that mean the last maze is one for courage and will have something to do with Link?”

“It’s quite possible.”

Link gave a shrug then looked up at the sky.

The sun was slowly beginning to set.

** We should get back before it gets too dark. **

“I agree,” Ganondorf grumbled. “I doubt even Patricia will want to travel at night.”

* * *

The desert was cooling off as Patricia and the other two sand seals took the trio back to the town ruins.

As Ganondorf unlatched the lead around Patricia, he patted her neck. “I’ll see you later.”

Patricia gave a soft bark, leaning herself into the touch.

“Be good.”

Patricia stared at Ganondorf before turning and barking at the two sand seals.

Ganondorf watched as the three sand seals left. Once he couldn’t see them anymore, Ganondorf headed into the town ruins with Link and Zelda behind him.

A few knocks and the hidden trap door opened up, revealing Buliara, one of the guards to Urbosa.

“Ah, you still live.”

“You doubted us?” Ganondorf asked as he descended into the underground city.

“Fighting a Molduga is hard with three people,” Buliara murmured, gesturing for the three to follow her. “Urbosa had faith in you, however. Perhaps because you are Naboris’s son.”

“We won’t intrude for long,” Zelda said. “We just need a place to spend the night.”

**And food,** Link added. **We’ll have food, right?**

“Of course,” Buliara said with a nod. “Urbosa has already set up a buffet should you return. And Dune brought your friends here?”

“Dune?” Ganondorf asked. “I’m afraid we don’t know a Dune.”

“He’s a desert Zora. Your friends are river Zora. He said they were growing restless and led them here.”

**You mean Sidon and the others are here?!** Link asked, appearing surprised. **How?**

“Underground waterways,” Sidon said with a laugh as he approached the group with Mipha and Bazz beside him. “The desert used to be an ocean, after all.”

“Are you guys all right?” Zelda asked, looking between the three Zora. “We’re sorry we took so long—"

“It’s all right,” Mipha said, waving her hand. “Dune was kind enough to keep us company.”

“And show us the underground waterways,” Bazz added. “Dune also allowed us to be shown this place.”

“We weren’t aware the Gerudo still lived,” Mipha whispered. “If only we had known.”

“They wanted their existence to remain secret,” Ganondorf said. “If they had been discovered…”

Mipha nodded. “I understand.”

“Come,” Buliara said. “I’m sure that Chief Urbosa wishes to see you.”

Ganondorf gave a nod, following Buliara.

Zelda and the others trailed behind the two Gerudo.

Urbosa was sitting on the throne with Riju standing nearby, playing with Seally.

Urbosa smiled when she saw the group. “I’m glad to see that you’ve come back all right. Did you find everything that you needed?”

“Yes,” Zelda said. “Thank you for everything you’ve done for us.”

“Of course. Anything for my nephew.” Urbosa looked at Zelda, Link, and the Zora. “And his friends.”

Zelda smiled, giving a small bow. “Of course.”

“If it’s not a problem, Chief Urbosa,” Mipha murmured. “As the Zora Princess, I would like to extend my hand in friendship between our people.”

“Your father was wonderful friends with my sister and our mother,” Urbosa said, smiling at Mipha. “Your friendship is welcomed. As if your offer to open trade.”

Mipha beamed, her headtail wagging. “Thank you, Chief Urbosa!”

“Now, I’m sure you’re all famished from your adventures. Why don’t we eat?”

* * *

Ganondorf watched as Link continued to pantomime their expedition through the Arbiter’s Grounds to a group of enraptured Gerudo watching the exaggerated movements.

Zelda was narrating the entire story, giggling every so often.

Sidon, Mipha, and Bazz sat nearby, watching the story play out in amusement.

Riju appeared awed by the entire thing, clutching Seally closer to her.

“Not enjoying the festivities, huh?” Urbosa asked, settling herself beside Ganondorf.

Ganondorf glanced at her then looked back at the scene before him. “Nah, they don’t need me to act out what happened. Link’s doing a good job all on his own.”

Urbosa chuckled, leaning back on her hands. “You’re close friends with those Hylians, hm?”

“I grew up with them. They’re my best friends.”

“You all care about each other deeply,” Urbosa murmured, glancing at Ganondorf before nudging his arm. “But perhaps you care about one more than the other?”

Ganondorf pulled his arm away, mouth twitching. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Don’t you pull that with me. I can see the way you look at her.”

Ganondorf hummed, resting his chin in his hand. “It doesn’t matter. We have a mission and I won’t let my feelings get in the way of what we have to do.”

“She care for you too.”

“As a friend.”

“Are you certain of that?”

Ganondorf didn’t respond, glancing to the side.

Urbosa hummed, running her hands through Ganondorf’s hair before beginning to braid a piece of it. “My dear Arun, the desert cannot stop being hot as much as it wishes to. Just like feelings cannot stop.”

“It won’t work out.”

“Do you know from experience? Or are you just assuming?”

Ganondorf sighed and Urbosa smiled.

“If you have no answer, then you’re assuming. Assuming is like climbing a dune during a sandstorm. I wish only happiness for you.”

Urbosa finished the fourth braid and pulled Ganondorf closer to her.

“You deserve happiness, vehvi. More than you know or think you deserve. Don’t discount your feelings.”

Ganondorf closed his eyes before wrapping his arms around Urbosa, squeezing her. “All right. thank you for your advice, Urbosa.”

“Don’t forget that everyone is here for you.”

“I know. And I promise that I’ll make sure the Gerudo can come out into the open again. Our people belong in the sun, not hiding underground like rats.”

Urbosa closed her eyes. “I know you will. You have the same strength that Naboris did. And she always followed through with her promises.”

Ganondorf pulled back, staring at Urbosa. “And I’ll keep you up to date with our journey via messenger hawk. We’ll visit again when we can.”

Urbosa smiled. “I look forward to that when it comes. Be careful on your journey, all right?”

“And you be careful as well.” Ganondorf wrapped an arm around Urbosa, squeezing her. “Din light your path.”

“And yours as well, nephew.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No one asked for tender Gan but I gave it anyway  
> And yeah he'll forget about the braids.


	30. Arc 1: The Dragon's Jaws

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's raining today so it's a perfect day to play Stardew Valley.  
> Anyway, here's the chapter xD And next chapter is more temple time, temple time.

The next morning as early as possible, the group left the Gerudo’s hideout.

It was still dark and cold, but the time it took from the ruins to the desert entrance was four hours and they had to beat the desert heat so the Zora wouldn’t fry.

The small braids in Ganondorf’s hair remained, either because he forgot about them or because he kept them as a memento of Urbosa.

Walking on foot wasn’t ideal and multiple tines the group was ambushed by lurking Lizalfos or Stalizalfos. Of course, with six of them, the monsters weren’t a threat and more of a nuisance.

As the sun was beginning to rise, lighting up the desert sand, the group left the shifting grains and were back on solid ground.

Zelda sighed as they made their way to the stable that sat alone in the canyon. “I don’t miss the desert at all.”

 **Sand is overrated,** Link agreed, rubbing his hair furiously to dislodge the grains of sands buried in his scalp.

Even the Zora were rubbing sand off themselves, trying to get between their scales.

Ganondorf couldn’t say anything, being biased towards the desert, sand grains included.

There was an excited whinny and before Ganondorf could brace himself, Helltrotter had already knocked him to the ground.

 **Epona!** Link gasped as the chestnut mare approached him. He hugged Epona’s neck.

“How did you guys get here?” Zelda asked, petting Bluebell when the mare approached. “We left you by Digdogg Bridge.”

“These horses yours?” the stable owner asked, walking over to the group. “Some travelers saw them being attacked by some Bokoblin and brought them here to keep them safe. That large one is a fierce fighter, sir.”

“Don’t I know it,” Ganondorf muttered, rubbing Helltrotter’s face, the large stallion standing over him and demanding attention.

Helltrotter snorted, giving a look that told Ganondorf he wasn’t pleased at being left alone for so long.

Ganondorf rolled his eyes as he shoved Helltrotter’s face away so he could stand up. “You were the one who wouldn’t cross the bridge and you’d do it for some strangers?”

Helltrotter nickered.

“Don’t give me attitude.”

“Where are we off to now?” Mipha asked. “Lurelin?”

Zelda nodded. “Yes. It will take a day or two, but we can stop at a stable.”

Ganondorf opened the map he had in his possession, looking at their current location and the location of Lurelin. “Well, it will take a while to reach the nearest stable, which is Outskirt. We and rest there for a night then if we leave early, we should arrive at Lakeside Stable….”

He hummed, mentally calculating their route and how long it would possibly take.

“Well, it’s possible we could arrive tomorrow afternoon.”

“That’s not too bad,” Sidon said with a grin. “We’ll at last be surrounded by water soon enough.”

“I do miss the water,” Mipha murmured.

Bazz nodded.

“Well, we can stay a while at Lurelin,” Zelda promised, looking at Ganondorf and Link. “Right?”

Link nodded eagerly. It was like a vacation. One they deserved after everything they had been through.

It wasn’t a vacation, though. Not to Ganondorf. They still had a maze to do as well as two more temples. Not only that but with Revali out for vengeance, he could rat their location to Rhoam. However, it couldn’t hurt to stay a day or two.

Ganondorf sighed then nodded. “All right. We can stay a day or two. Relax a little.”

Zelda beamed at Ganondorf agreeing to a small vacation.

With that settled, the group continued on their way, winding back through the canyon and dry grass. The ride to Outskirt Stable was long and boring, monsters and animals scarce.

While the heat was not nearly as stifling as the desert, it still got hot enough to make the Zora uncomfortable.

They took a brief break at Digdogg Bridge so the Zora could refresh themselves in the water. Once they were ready to continue, the group resumed their trek to the stable. It took several hours and they reached it around nightfall.

While Ganondorf put the horses away, Zelda went to buy some beds for them. Link decided to make a late-night dinner since none of them had anything substantial to eat during their trip.

Gathering whatever he could find that the stable offered, Link cooked something with Sidon’s help.

Everyone was tired and aching but stayed awake long enough to eat what Link made.

Ganondorf glanced at the moon while they ate, spying the half circle hanging in the sky.

Another few days would be a full moon and more trouble from nightmares and Malice.

“Ya ha ha!” Astrid laughed as she appeared in Ganondorf’s lap, startling everyone from her appearance.

“There you are,” Ganondorf murmured, not bothering to stop the Korok as she began to steal pieces of food off his plate. “Where were you?”

“Desert too hot,” Astrid said. “Don’t like the desert.”

“You were hiding out somewhere cool?” Zelda asked, mildly offended Astrid had abandoned them.

Wasn’t she supposed to help them find temples?

Astrid nodded. “Korok Forest. Talked with Grampa a lot. He said he’s proud of your progress.”

“Is that where you go every so often?” Ganondorf asked. “To see the Great Deku Tree?”

“Mm-hm. He wants to make sure you stay on the right path.”

It made sense, Zelda decided as she glanced at Ganondorf. Even though they were doing as the Deku Tree suggested, they could still end up falling into the wrong place.

“Will you stay with us now?” Sidon asked, looking at Astrid. “Since we’ll be heading to cooler places now?”

Astrid hummed as she thought about it before nodding with a laugh. “Uh-huh!”

Ganondorf patted her head. “Good. You’re part of our group, you know.”

Astrid giggled as she swiped more food off Ganondorf’s plate.

* * *

Before everyone was awake the next morning, Ganondorf was awake by a sense something was missing.

The sun was just beginning to rise from the horizon and as he looked around, Ganondorf saw that everyone was still in their beds. Everyone except Zelda.

With a hum, Ganondorf got out of bed and made his way outside, wondering what had gotten Zelda up so early.

He didn’t have to look very far as she was near the small group of trees in front of the stable, staring at the sunrise. He noticed immediately that her hair was cut short, reaching to the middle of her neck.

Ganondorf wasn’t sure why she had suddenly cut it and he was about to make his presence known when Zelda turned to look at him.

“Oh.” She smiled. “Good morning, Gan. Aren’t the sunrises here beautiful?”

The sun’s rays caught the dry grass, turning it orange, and Zelda’s hair. The light created a halo and Ganondorf was once again reminded that Zelda was Hylia’s incarnation. Bright as Din’s fire and sweet as Faron’s breeze.

“Yeah…beautiful...”

Zelda tilted her head. “Huh?”

Ganondorf blushed as he realized that his mouth had acted before his brain. “I….I said viewtiful. It’s viewtiful!”

Before he could make a fool out of himself anymore, Ganondorf made his way back to the stable. He could hear the derisive laughter in his head and wasn’t sure if it was his mind mocking him or the Malice.

Zelda watched Ganondorf leave, even more confused by his behavior.

“I could have sword I hear him say something else,” she muttered to herself, tapping her cheek.

Perhaps she had been mistaken.

Deciding not to question it, Zelda returned to the stable to see if Link was up so they could all eat breakfast before continuing to Lurelin.

* * *

With supplies gathered around the stable, Link was able to make open-faced eggs and pancakes with local maple syrup.

Sidon helped Link with the food, but only the pancakes since he had accidentally broken an egg into the cooking pot, ruining the first batch because of the eggshells.

Ganondorf joined the group for breakfast but he avoided Zelda’s gaze the entire time, sitting closer to the Zora than her.

Zelda decided not to ask since she was sure he’d continue to shut her out. He would tell her when he was ready.

Their bellies full, the six left Outskirt Stable and continued on their way to Faron.

As they approached Finra Woods, a heavy rainstorm decided to dump its contents on them.

While the Zora enjoyed the rainfall, Ganondorf, Zelda and Link were miserable being wet, especially as the humidity climbed the further they walked.

Bokoblin archers dotted ridges along the path, ready to take down unsuspecting travelers, while Lizalfos lurked along the edges, camouflaged to match the green foliage.

The monsters posed little threat. While Link and Sidon took out the archers, Mipha and Bazz took care of the pesky Lizalfos.

After crossing a bridge spanning Floria River, Astrid popped up on Ganondorf’s shoulder.

“I sense a temple!”

“A temple?” Zelda asked as the group slowed to a stop. “Where?”

Astrid glanced around before pointing to her left. “Over there!”

The forest ahead of them was dotted with old, crumbling pillars that Zelda had recognized as Zonai ruins.

_“It was said they lived in Faron,” she had pointed out._

The ruins impressed even Ganondorf as the group stared at a stone statue of a bird.

“Up there, huh?” Ganondorf grunted, taking out his map to see where Astrid was taking them.

They had just left Pagos Woods and stood close to Harker Lake. Astrid was leading them towards Dracozu Lake.

“The road ahead is too rough for the horses,” Zelda said. “Are we going to leave them?”

 **Is it safe for them?** Link asked. **Should we drop them at the nearest stable?**

“And backtrack all the way here?” Ganondorf muttered. “That’d waste hours. We could find the temple in less than an hour if we just go. Besides, the horses can take care of themselves.”

“That stable owner did say they held their own against Bokoblins,” Sidon agreed.

Ganondorf nodded as he got down. “We’ll go on foot from here.”

“We’ll go ahead,” Bazz suggested. “Clear out any monsters ahead.”

“Good idea, Bazz,” Mipha said. “And we can see if there is anything of not as well.”

“Thank you,” Zelda murmured. “That’s kind of you.”

The three Zora jumped into the nearest body of water and disappeared beneath the surface.

 **At least the rain stopped,** Link said as he, Zelda and Ganondorf began to walk through the dense jungle undergrowth.

“The humidity hasn’t,” Ganondorf grumbled.

And they were still wet from the storm. He had preferred the desert to humid jungle.

“Lurelin will be much better,” Zelda promised. “It’s got a cool ocean breeze so it’s not too humid. It does rain a lot more, being on the ocean though.”

“Great,” Ganondorf grumbled. “More rain.”

“It’s good rain,” Zelda defended. “Not hot like this rain.”

Halfway to their destination they ran to the Zora.

Sidon held onto the fletch of a few shock arrows, holding them out to Link once he was within range.

“The Lizalfos had shock arrows,” Mipha explained.

“Good thing they weren’t too tough,” Bazz grunted.

Link took the offered arrows, adding them to his quiver.

With the Zora back with them, they continued to the end of Dracozu River, the mouth of it open like a dragon’s jaws.

 _The name makes sense,_ Ganondorf thought.

Draco meant dragon. Dragon river.

“This is amazing,” Zelda breathed, staring at the enormous stone sculpture in front of them.

The stones were carved and shaped like the head of a dragon, rocks on either side of it gripping the edges of the cliffs and carved into claws.

“The Zonai built this?” Sidon asked, impressed with the architecture.

“This must have been an important spot for them,” Bazz said.

“Where’s the temple?” Zelda asked, glancing around for an entrance to the temple.

 **Is it here?** Link looked at Astrid on Ganondorf’s shoulder.

The Korok nodded. “Uh-huh!”

“Perhaps that opens up?” Ganondorf muttered, staring at the dragon’s head.

Though it couldn’t be that easy, how did they pry it open in the first place? Maybe a few Goron could lift up the ton of rock, but not the six of them alone.

There was a whisper of scales rubbing against bark.

Ganondorf looked behind him to see an enormous snake slithering closer to them.

The snake was as huge as the dragons and black with red diamonds down its back.

Upon noticing that its attempt at sneaking up unnoticed was futile, the snake hissed, a large hood unfurling from its neck.

“Why did it have to be a snake?!” Zelda asked as she and the others got their weapons out.

“We kill it and the entrance will show itself,” Ganondorf said, scraping his swords together to activate the ice and flames.

The snake flicked its tongue before lunging at them.

They all moved to different sides and the snake struck the ground.

As it shook its head, Link and Sidon pelted it with arrows.

Annoyed, it lashed out with its tail, knocking Link into Sidon.

A Light Arrow sunk into its tail and the snake shrieked before turning its attention to Zelda.

With its attention off them, Mipha and Bazz both stabbed its underbelly with their weapons.

It writhed with a shriek before swinging its head low, slamming to the two into each other.

With the head low, Ganondorf jumped onto the snake’s skull, raising Kotake above his head, blade pointed down. “You’re about to have the worst brain freeze, buddy.”

As it reared up, the ice covered its head then slid down its body, immobilizing the snake entirely.

Ganondorf yanked Kotake free and leaped to the ground just as the frozen snake shattered.

“Whoa,” Sidon said as the group slowly approached the pile of frozen snake pieces.

“That’s…amazing,” Bazz agreed.

“I didn’t know they were that powerful,” Zelda said, watching as Ganondorf sheathed his swords to cut off the magic.

“Me either,” Ganondorf muttered. “However, that doesn’t matter since we beat the guardian.”

 **Was that the guardian?** Link asked. **It could have just been a monster.**

Before Ganondorf could disagree, Mipha interjected, “He is right. Not every large monster we come across could be the guardian of the temple.”

“Well, it was the guardian,” Zelda said, pointing at something.

Behind them, the head of the rock dragon was shuddering. Gradually, the dragon opened its jaws until they gaped before the group. Torches lit up within the teeth, revealing the entrance to a structure.

“That must be the temple,” Ganondorf said, looking at the entrance. “Come on. Let’s go inside.”

“We’ll wait out here for you,” Mipha said, clasping her hands behind her back.

Sidon nodded, appearing concerned for the three. “Good luck in there.”

Link gave a thumbs up as Zelda said, “We will. We’ll try not to be long.”

With Ganondorf in the lead, Zelda and Link headed to the temple.

As soon as they passed through the entrance, the door closed behind them. Outside the dragon snapped its jaws shut, the sound similar to a growl.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We are officially at 100k woooo  
> did you know an Epic is considered 110k? So this story is inching towards Epic territory xD  
> I hope you enjoyed anyway :)


	31. Arc 1: The Sting of Revenge

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had this finished yesterday but my arm hurt too much to type it up Dx so here it is!  
> I hope it's satisfactory

Link glanced around as they came into the main area of the temple.

There were three doors for them to go through, each marked with a different symbol. On the floor was a marking of the Triforce with three dragons curled around it.

“Dragons?” Ganondorf asked, staring at the picture. “I thought the Zonai worshipped a boar, owl, and a dragon.”

“They….do,” Zelda said uncertainly. “Perhaps they were aware of the existence of the dragons?”

 **That’s possible,** Link agreed. **They’re pretty hard to miss.**

“Could be,” Ganondorf muttered, staring at the pictures skeptically as he rubbed his chin. “Or it could be a hint.”

“A hint?”

“Perhaps they knew about our coming here."

**You mean they could see into the future?**

“Or their shamans could. So, they built this for us and added the three dragons.” Ganondorf pointed to the dragons. “See, their colors are slightly different. The red one is over the power piece. The blue one is by wisdom.”

Zelda gasped as she noticed what Ganondorf was talking about. “I see. Dinraal, Naydra, and Farosh.”

 **So what does this have to do with us?** Link asked.

Ganondorf stepped onto the Triforce, right on the piece of power.

The floor shifted down slightly as if he had stepped on a switch, the drawing of Dinraal lighting up.

“I see,” Zelda said, stepping on the Triforce’s wisdom piece.

Link stood on the courage piece.

Naydra and Farosh both lit up.

There was a slight rumble and the three doors slowly scraped open.

“So, what do we do?” Zelda asked, looking between the three doors. “Is there an order we need to go through them?”

Ganondorf shook his head. “No. I think we need to split up.”

 **Split up?** Link asked. **Why?**

“See the marks above the doors?” Ganondorf pointed to the symbols painted above the doorways. “Din, Nayru, and Farore. Each one possibly meant for the wielder of that particular Triforce piece.”

“But what’s going to be tested?” Zelda asked, crossing her arms. “And why did the Zonai build this? What did they have to gain from it?”

“Who knows,” Ganondorf murmured, heading towards the door straight ahead of him. “Let’s find out.”

Zelda sighed before heading into the door on her left while Link entered the final door.

The doors closed behind them.

Ganondorf hummed as he glanced around the room which appeared empty save for a single sign.

**_The rooms beyond test your strengths and weaknesses._ **

“Pretty straightforward then,” Ganondorf muttered.

A few torches appeared from the floor, each one numbered. The room was obviously testing his strength, which was magic.

Ganondorf lit the torches in order and the door opened before him.

 _I wonder if that means the last temple will be extremely hard,_ Ganondorf wondered as he moved into the next room, the door sliding shut behind him.

A sign sat in the center of the room and Ganondorf went over to read it.

“Try and catch me?” he muttered, wondering what exactly he had to catch.

A Korok with a spade-shaped leaf appeared on the top of the sign, startling Ganondorf.

“Let’s play tag!” the Korok giggled. “You’re it!”

The Korok disappeared before Ganondorf could react, reappearing a ways away from him, waving at him.

 _What does this test?_ Ganondorf thought as he approached the Korok.

He wasn’t really bad at games. He defiantly didn’t consider it a weakness.

As he reached out to touch the Korok, it disappeared again with a giggle. With a slightly annoyed huff, Ganondorf looked around for the Korok and spotted it near a corner. Before he could even approach it, the Korok vanished again. With a low growl, Ganondorf clenched his hands. He took a deep breath as he realized that the room was testing his weakness of easily angered.

Of course it would pick that one.

Instead of following after the Korok only to have it disappear and move somewhere else, Ganondorf sat down.

He was going to wait for the Korok to come to him.

After a while, the Korok appeared in front of Ganondorf, tilting its head. “Aren’t you going to play with me?”

“I am playing,” Ganondorf said, tapping the Korok’s head. “You’re it.”

The Korok gasped before giggling and vanishing.

The door behind Ganondorf opened and he stood up to move into the final room.

**_Test the strength of your blades._ **

“Sword fighting, huh?” Ganondorf muttered as a Stalfos dropped from the ceiling, wielding two blades.

As the skeleton raised its weapons, one vertical and one horizontal, Ganondorf unsheathed his swords.

“That I can do.” Ganondorf circled the Stalfos to give himself time to scan its strategy.

Every so often the Stalfos would switch the positions of its swords, exposing different weak points.

 _I get it,_ Ganondorf thought as the Stalfos once again repositioned its swords.

Once it did, he lashed out with both blades, smashing two of the Stalfos’ ribs.

The Stalfos staggered from the blow before righting itself, swords raised again.

Ganondorf stayed just out of reach so the Stalfos couldn’t attack him but lunged forward when he saw a good opening to strike. He kept up the strategy until all the ribs were smashed and the Stalfos collapsed under its own weight.

To be sure it couldn’t reform itself, Ganondorf pierced the monster’s skull.

The door to what Ganondorf assumed was the boss room opened up.

He headed into it, wondering how Zelda and Link were fairing with their own challenges.

* * *

Zelda hit another glowing target with a Light Arrow, turning it grey.

A fifth one popped up, followed by a sixth. The two began to move opposite of each other.

Zelda shot both of them one after the other.

Once the last one turned grey, the door to the next room opened up and Zelda went through it.

The next room looked pretty empty. Zelda couldn’t even see a sign.

Zelda hummed, glancing around as she wondered what she was supposed to be doing.

What was it testing? Her patience?

Deciding to see if there was something hidden, Zelda shot the walls with Light Arrows.

One wall lit up briefly before fading.

“Huh….”

Was it testing the strength of her Light Arrows?

Deciding to test her theory, Zelda took aim at the wall once again before trying to embed some of her weak magic into the arrow in an attempt to strengthen it. Then she let the arrow fly.

It Zelda stared at the picture that was revealed.

She recognized the figures facing off against the enormous boar beast. The one dressed in white was using some kind of light magic against the beast to weaken it. Zelda didn’t have strong magic. The best she had was the Light Bow and Arrows.

Zelda headed into the next room, deciding not to stare at the mural any longer.

The final room had three boxes with symbols on them. Indents in the floor had the same markings, indicating where the boxes were to go.

“This seems easy enough,” Zelda mumbled to herself, heading to one of the boxes and beginning to push it.

Her efforts were in vain as the box refused to budge. She tried from different sides to try and get it to move but the box remained where it was.

With a frustrated growl, Zelda glared at the box as she put her hands on her hips. She glanced at the vambrace on her wrist, remembering how it had held Abyss still.

“I wonder…”

It couldn’t hurt to try, right?

Holding out her hand, Zelda focused on the box, trying to get the vambrace to work.

After a bit of waiting, a red line shot out and wrapped around the box.

Zelda moved her arm a bit, watching the box move with it, and set the box in the right indent. As it sank down, she grabbed another box and repeated moving it to the right section before doing the same with the final box.

As the last box sank into the ground, the door to the boss room opened up.

Zelda grinned at the vambrace. “You are extremely useful.”

* * *

Link grunted as he struck down another Bokoblin with the Master Sword.

He didn’t like this temple at all.

Looking around to make sure there wasn’t another monster, Link sighed as the door to the next room opened up.

Fighting through three waves of monsters wasn’t exactly what he wanted to do in a temple.

The next room was empty except for two torches.

The sign he found told him to light the torches without the use of fire arrows.

Link didn’t have any fire arrows, but how else could he light the torches? It wasn’t like he could use magic.

With a grunt, Link withdrew the Master Sword and his shield. He struck the metal edge of the shield to create sparks which lit up one of the torches. He did the same thing with the second torch and was relieved the temple accepted the unusual method, the next door opening up.  
Scattered around the room were multiple targets that were archery targets.

Link assumed he had to hit them with arrows and checked his quiver. He had a small amount of bomb arrows and the bundle Sidon had given him of shock arrows. It didn’t look like he had normal arrows.

Next stable he would buy some to add variety.

For now, he would use the shock arrows since they wouldn’t do too much damage.

After shooting the fifteen targets, the door to the boss room opened up and Link went into the room, spotting Zelda and Ganondorf already there.

“There you are!” Zelda said.

 **Hey.** Link waved. **You guys have weird rooms too?**

“They were testing our strengths and weaknesses,” Ganondorf said.

“But why?” Zelda asked. “We already know our strengths and weaknesses.”

“Perhaps to help us with the boss?” Ganondorf shrugged. “Who know what the Zonai were thinking when they built this place.”

Zelda decided not to mention the mural she had seen. Of course the Zonai would know about the prophecies and future of Hyrule.

Link glanced around the empty room. **Where is the boss anyway? It should have shown up by now.**

“Perhaps someone else already killed it?” Zelda suggested, looking hopeful.

“Don’t count on it,” Ganondorf muttered when there was a shriek.

An enormous scorpion dropped from the ceiling, opening its thick claws as the barbed tail raised above its head.

“A scorpion?” Zelda asked as the scorpion clicked its claws at them. “How do we get past its exoskeleton?”

“Let me handle that,” Ganondorf growled. “Just like with the crab boss. Break the shell, expose the soft skin underneath.”

 **Don’t get hit by the barb,** Link added.

“That too.”

The three separated to different sides so the scorpion could only focus on one of them at a time.

The scorpion hissed, looking between the trio before focusing its attention on Link.

With its back turned to him, Ganondorf jumped on the scorpion, driving one of his swords into its hard shell, trying to break it.

The scorpion shrieked and reached its claws back, snapping at Ganondorf.

He avoided the claws, continuing to try and break the shell.

The scorpion turned in a circle as it continued to try and grab the one stabbing it, tail swinging out.

Link ducked to avoid the wayward tail.

Zelda moved backward, the tip of the barb grazing her cheek.

The scorpion managed to knock Ganondorf off its back, hissing at the redhead.

Link shot the scorpion in the face with a bomb arrow, blinding it temporarily.

As the scorpion shook its head, Ganondorf lunged forward to stab its open mouth.  
The scorpion screeched at the weapon stuck in its mouth, trying to paw it out.

With the scorpion distracted, Link jumped onto its back to resume piercing its shell.

With the pain in both its mouth and back, the scorpion shook itself in an attempt to dislodge one or the other. It was a useless attempt as Link hopped off on his own, shooting a thumbs up at Ganondorf.

“Good job!” Ganondorf said, looking towards Zelda. “Your Light Arrows will finish it—Zelda?”

Zelda looked unwell and the graze on her cheek gave him all the answers to her state.

“Let me have the Light Arrow.”

“It will burn you though,” Zelda protested, looking at Ganondorf miserably.

“That’s what the spring is for. It will heal us both, but we need to kill the boss before the poison spreads.”

He was not panicking. As long as Zelda was still standing, there was a chance.

Zelda bit her lip before summoning the Light Bow and an Arrow. She held them out to Ganondorf.

He took the bow, which didn’t burn him like it probably should have, and the arrow which immediately hissed against his skin the second it touched.

Ganondorf approached the scorpion which was still attempting to get the sword out of its mouth. He jumped on its back and fired the arrow into the soft spot of skin exposed underneath the cracked shell.

The scorpion shrieked at the pain, reaching its claws back to try and pull the arrow out.

After jumping to the ground, Ganondorf pulled his sword from the scorpion’s mouth. Then he stabbed it in one of the beast’s eyes.

“That’s for poisoning Zelda.”

The scorpion writhed in pain before dropping to the ground and going limp.

A door at the end of the room opened up once the scorpion had vanished in a cloud of dark dust.

The Light Bow vanished from Ganondorf’s hand and he looked towards Zelda to see her on the floor.

“Zelda!” Ganondorf ran over to her to check her out.

 **Is she all right?** Link asked as Ganondorf checked for a pulse.

After finding a pulse Ganondorf nodded, gathering Zelda into his arms. “We need to get to the spring though.”

Link gave a quick nod, following Ganondorf into the spring room.

The healing waters closed the small cut on Zelda’s cheek and healed the burn on Ganondorf’s hand.

* * *

_He continued to strike at the training dummy, make believing that it was a vicious monster._

_He was tired of just training and wanted a real challenge, but he wasn’t yet a knight. He had to first pass his knight training test which was why he was training in the first place._

_It was boring work though. But he wanted to be one of Hylia’s knights desperately. He would show everyone even a country boy could hold his own against monsters._

_With that in mind, he threw himself at the training dummy harder than before._

* * *

_He grumbled to himself as he continued to stare at the map laid out on the table in front of him._

_Trying to get the Bokoblins of Lanaryu was proving difficult._

_“Having trouble there, Demise?” Hylia asked, approaching him and leaning against his side so she could see what he was plotting._

_“The Lanayru Bokoblins are being difficult to convince that joining forces with me will help keep your lands safe.”_

_“They don’t like you?”  
_

_"No, they don’t like you.”_

_“Ouch. The Lizalfos like me.”_

_“Because they’re stupid lizards that jump at anything shiny,” he mumbled._

_Hylia laughed. “You don’t have to get every monster to turn good to please me.”_

_“I guess…”_

_“Come on.” Hylia pulled his hand to lead him away from the table. “Tea’s getting cold.”_

* * *

When the dragon’s mouth opened up again, the Zora perked up from their daze.

“Did you finish it?” Mipha asked when they saw Ganondorf, Zelda and Link leaving the temple.

Link nodded with a grin.

“That’s wonderful!” Sidon said. “So, you only have one more temple to do?”

“We don’t know where it is, though,” Zelda sighed.

“Perhaps you could ask Astrid to search around for it?” Bazz suggested. “Then you’d at least know where to go.”

“We’ll do that at the next stable,” Ganondorf said. “We’re pretty tired and it will be nearly four hours to reach the stable.”

Everyone looked up at the afternoon sky, tinged pink and threatening evening.

“Then we’d best get going,” Sidon said. “It’s not safe to spend the night out in the open.”

Zelda nodded.

Returning to where they had left the horses, the group resumed their trek towards Lurelin, stopping at Lakeside Stable which sat near the moss-covered wooden bridge that spanned Lake Floria. Floria Bridge was held up by three enormous tree trunks.

While the Zora went to find fish in the lake. Zelda got them beds for the night.

After asking Astrid to check out Akkala and Eldin for any temple locations, Ganondorf scratched the small braids out of his hair so they wouldn’t get in his way when he took a bath later. With everyone doing their own thing, the redhead took some paper and a quill, writing a letter to the Gerudo.

Once it was finished, Ganondorf borrowed a messenger hawk from the stable, tying the letter to the bird’s leg before telling it where to go. He watched it fly off, hoping it made it to the desert safely.

* * *

The heat was just beginning to rise over the ridge that separated the desert from the remainder of Hyrule.

The hawk scanned the shifting sands below, searching for where it had to go when something grabbed it from above, pinning its wings to the sides.

“Quit your squawking,” Revali muttered as he landed on the dusty ridge, holding the shrieking hawk in one foot. He spotted the note tied to its leg and pulled it off. “What’s this?”

Opening the piece of paper, Revali read it over and hummed.

“Interesting.”

Tying the letter back onto the hawk’s leg, Revali released it, watching it fly away. “Fly off, little bird.”

The hawk continued to the desert.

Revali crossed his wings, tapping his beak. “I wonder what he would like to know more: the location of his daughter or that the Gerudo still live?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah I know Link's memory is short sue me Dx  
> Comments are my lifeblood :)


	32. Arc 1: Peace

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yea I know it's almost been a month but with me doing another story, I'm not gonna update this every week. At the most it will be every month. At the least every two weeks.  
> Please bear with me xD

After spending the night at the stable, the group continued on their way to Lurelin Village. A light sprinkle of rain greeted them as they exited the thick forest and came out into a broad, grassy area. The dirty path led towards the small seaside village.

The village houses were small and wooden, set onto chest-high stakes to keep floods from reaching them. Torches were positioned at each house and around the decks. The inn sat near the center of the village.

“It’s amazing,” Zelda murmured, gazing around the town.

Link led the horses to the inn to take off their saddles. The Zora took off to the beach, leaping into the waters of Lurelin Bay.

Zelda hadn’t seen such clear blue water. She could almost see the bottom.

The sand was soft and white, covered in a myriad of footprints. Crabs scuttled along the beach, scattering if a seagull swooped too close.

While Zelda began to greet the locals, Ganondorf walked towards the beach, pausing just before the waves lapped at the shore.

As he stared out at the water, the noon sun sparkling on the surface, he barely noticed Link coming to stand beside him. After staring for a bit, Ganondorf glanced at Link to see the blond gazing out at the water with an unreadable expression. He wondered if Link was remembering the same thing. When Hyrule was buried by water.

Link looked at Ganondorf and grinned. **You thinking what I’m thinking?**

“Water shield surfing?”

Link nodded quickly.

“I’ll get a rope.”

**I got a shield.**

* * *

“Are you certain this is quite safe?” Sidon asked, glancing at Ganondorf and Link as he held onto the rope.

Link stood on the dock, standing on the shield he kept on his back. He had the rope tied around his waist.

“Perfectly,” Ganondorf lied. “We’ve done it loads of times.”

Shield surfing, yes. Water shield surfing was their first attempt, but it couldn’t be that difficult, right?

Sidon appeared doubtful, but he put the rope between his teeth, watching Link expectantly.

Link gave a thumbs up when he was ready.

Sidon dove under the water and seconds later, Link was pulled off the dock, shield hitting the water and beginning to skim the surface.

Link waved as he was pulled along the water, grinning widely.

Ganondorf chuckled, waving back.

“What is he doing?” Zelda asked, coming to stand beside Ganondorf.

“Shield surfing on the water.”

Zelda watched as Sidon turned sharply, almost causing Link to fall off the shield. “Is that safe?”

“Probably not. But it looks fun, doesn’t it?” Ganondorf leaned closer to Zelda with a grin. “Wanna go next?”

Zelda hummed, crossing her arms as Link finally fell off the shield, splashing into the water. “It does look fun.”

“You want to do it.”

“Perhaps.”

Ganondorf gave a laugh at the deflective response. Zelda definitely wanted to go next.

* * *

After a few hours of water shield surfing, Sidon got tired and the group took a break.

It was near evening and since everyone was getting hungry, Link decided to make some local cuisine. With some rice, butter, salt, and fish from the bay, he made salmon risotto.

The evening wind was warm and fireflies made an appearance along the beach.

As Zelda ate, she watched the lights from the fireflies, feeling relaxed. It was nice not to have to worry about monsters or anything else.

Ganondorf watched Zelda then looked at the fireflies. He glanced up at the sky, staring at the nearly full moon mocking him. He hoped the blood moon would hold off until they were far away from Lurelin or any civilization.

Ganondorf went back to his food, trying to ignore the moon’s shifting phases.

* * *

Early the next morning, Link was up before anyone else.

Well, not anyone. The Zora were already in the bay, enjoying the water.

Link watched Lurelin’s residents bustling about, avoiding several that almost ran into him. He grabbed someone’s arm so he could see what was going on.

“Today’s the festival!” the man explained.

 **Festival?** Link asked.

“The anniversary of the day Prince Sidon saved our village from the Octorok.”

That had been a _true_ story?

As the man scurried off, Link glanced around to see banners being strung up and a long table being set up. He looked towards the bay, wondering if the residents had recognized Sidon. He was hard not to remember.

“Ohh, Link, my man, what are you doing here?”

Link turned to see three Rito landing several feet away. He recognized the one in the middle right away, grinning. **Brimstone!**

Brimstone’s feathers were a red-orange, like he was the embodiment of fire. His eyes were yellow and his crest feathers were spiked back like boar bristles. A thin silver chain necklace held the fang of a Lizalfos and Brimstone wore only brown trousers with a few small pouches for items.

Link had seen Brimstone in Castle Town a few times when he had been younger. The Rito had done a few small gigs with his other bandmates, Starlight and Mesa.

Starlight had black feathers with several drooping over their right eye like a fringe. The left eye was a deep purple. On the Rito’s legs were two amber bracelets and they wore a purple tunic.

Mesa was shorter and stockier than Brimstone and Starlight with light brown feathers, crest feathers shaggy. Markings sat beside his green eyes. On a chain necklace, the Rito had the decorative skull Bokoblin wore and Bokoblin fangs. Like Brimstone, he wore only trousers, black in color.

 **Why are you here?** Link asked.

“The festival,” Starlight said, flipping a wing towards the bustling village. “We’re here to sing.”

Brimstone nodded. “Here to honor the brave Zora Prince.”

Sidon was coming out of the bay, obviously to see if Link was out to make some breakfast and paused when he saw the blond talking to three Rito he didn’t recognize. He tried not to feel a bit jealous. Link was allowed to have friends, after all.

Leaving Link to the Rito, Sidon returned to the inn to see if Ganondorf or Zelda were awake.

Mipha had smelled the scent of the Sea Zora, revealing how close they were to arriving to Lurelin. While they waited, Sidon was going to see if Zelda or the others wanted to see the Sea Zora as well.

Bazz glanced at Mipha as he hovered beside her while they waited to see any sign of the Sea Zora.

He was nervous. Not because he was alone with her. No, he knew the Sea Zora came to Lurelin to mate and lay their eggs.

It was mating season and Bazz was determined to show his interest in Mipha.

 _I’m going to do it,_ he thought to himself seriously, nodding. _Even if she rejects me, I at least tried._

“What are you so happy about?” Mipha asked, glancing at Bazz when she saw how excited he appeared to be.

“Oh. Oh, the Sea Zora! It’s been so long and we made it in time for you to see them and talk to their leader.”

Mipha chuckled at the answer. “Oh, yes. It’s quite exciting. I wish dad could see this.”

“Perhaps next year?” Bazz offered.

“Perhaps. Yes.”

Bazz smiled and was about to say something else when Mipha gasped.

“There they are!”

Bazz looked towards where she was pointing. It wasn’t difficult to miss the Sea Zora’s arrival.

They were a colorful bunch with scales of orange and red and bright blue, broad fins and striped or spotted headtails which were long and tapered.

Bazz remained silent as Mipha swam to the group’s leader to engage them.

While the two talked, the Sea Zora congregated amongst each other, several males beginning flashy dances to try and woo any interested females.

The Sea Zora weren’t monogamous like River Zora. They chose different mates every year.

It was interesting to watch their dances and how they used their scales and the sun to their advantage.

Bazz waited for Mipha to finish speaking with the Sea Zora’s leader, perking slightly when she sawm over to him.

“They said yes!”

“They’ll trade?”

Mipha nodded eagerly. “Yes! This is so wonderful, Bazz! The Sea and Desert Zora and the Gerudo and Rito…”

“I wish we could ask the Goron.”

“Perhaps we can send a messenger from the Rito to ask. Find a middle ground…”

Bazz nodded as he watched Mipha who was in full future queen mode as she thought about how to open trade with the Goron. He took a deep breath then reached out to touch her arm. “Mipha?”

“Yes?” Mipha paused in her thoughts to give the guard her undivided attention.

“I want to show you something.”

Mipha tilted her head, a faint smile on her face. “Okay?”

Bazz nodded, moving back a few feet before beginning to circle Mipha.

Mipha watched him, realizing what he was about to do. She had seen a lot of mating dances before.

After circling a bit longer, Baz dove down before turning and swimming up to breach the surface.

Mipha poked her head above the water to watch as Bazz began to do intricate flips and spins in mid-air, the sunlight glinting off the water droplets and his scales at just the right angles.

As Bazz dove back beneath the water, Mipha joined him. He did a few twirls and twist then watched her for any sort of reaction or reciprocation to his moves.

Mipha giggled at him and Bazz tried not to be disappointed.

Of course, she would laugh at him. He had made a complete fool of himself.

Mipha moved closer and circled him before reciprocating his twists and turns.

As Bazz gaped at her, not believing that she was returning his interest, Mipha laughed and took off in the opposite direction.

Bazz chased after her.

* * *

Once the sun was beginning to set, the banquet and festivities for Sidon had already begun.

The Zora prince was of course embarrassed by the locals’ attempt at honoring him, telling the people he had done it not to be rewarded but because he couldn’t let anyone get hurt.

That still didn’t stop the villagers from continuing their festival which not only included local cuisine, but dances and songs from Brimstone and the Lost Feathers.

Eventually, Sidon gave up on trying to stop the festival, joining in on the festivities. The cuisine was mostly seafood so he stayed near the food.

Zelda had drug both Ganondorf and Link into the midst of the dancing locals, determined to make the two relax while they were in Lurelin.

“This is our newest song, Omens,” Brimstone said as the band set up for their next song. “Hope you enjoy.”

As Mesa began a steady beat on his drums, Starlight joined in with their keyboard. After a few seconds, Brimstone struck a rift on his guitar.

“Sitting on the ocean, a mysterious location that will test your devotion. Fight the beast of gold, its power is old. Take the gift, you will not be adrift, it’ll be swift. You’ll see in some time; you’ll know when it’s there. Though it’s a frightening thing to let go, there is someone there to go to! The burning of the village will light up the night sky, embers rising to meet the stars. Resist! Allow her to guide you home. Keep fighting! You are not alone! Don’t let the darkness take you. Shooting a beam of light towards you, piercing your flesh, will erase the demon in you. Walk with the power of light beside you, and nothing will harm you again. The darkness will not return again!”

Ganondorf felt the back of his neck prickle as the Rito finished the song, tune slowing to a stop.

Omen, huh? He wasn’t sure if he wanted to know whether the Rito was predicting the future or not.

Ganondorf didn’t think it was good to debate on it for too long. He was getting a bit hungry and it seemed the Lost Feathers were starting up music for slow dancing. As he was about to go towards the banquet table, someone grabbed his hand. He looked to see that it was Zelda.

She grinned at him, holding up a finger. “One more?”

He didn’t want to tell her he didn’t feel like a slow dance, nodding instead. He allowed her to grab his hands, setting them on the sides of her hips.

She was a bit too short to reach his shoulders or wrap her arms around his neck so she held onto his biceps instead.

Ganondorf tried to ignore their closeness, focusing on a point in the distance and the slow sway of their bodies.

“And here I didn’t think the great King of Darkness could dance.”

Ganondorf glanced at Zelda who was staring at their feet. He wasn’t sure if she was purposely teasing him or trying to distract him. He played along. “I am still royalty, princess. I had to learn all that boring royal stuff.”

“Perhaps you decided to become a warlord because you were bored.”

“Perhaps.”

Zelda chuckled at the response, leaning her forehead against his chest.

Ganondorf relaxed slightly at their banter. “Well, I didn’t know you could dance, princess, seeing as you’re always daydreaming.”

Zelda pouted up at him. “Rude.”

“It’s okay, I still love you.”

Zelda hummed, moving closer to Ganondorf to wrap her arms around his chest. “Me too.”

Ganondorf fell quiet, focusing on Zelda’s body heat against his and their swaying. He rested his chin on her head then his cheek, wondering if she misunderstood his meaning or not. He hadn’t meant to say it out loud. He could still take it back, saying he hadn’t meant it like that.

After a while he couldn’t take it, pulling back to look at Zelda. “So, when I said I love you, I meant—”

“Gan.” Zelda put her hand against the back of his neck.

“What?”

“Shut up.” She pulled him down until their lips touched.

Ganondorf froze and tensed before he slowly relaxed.

This wasn’t exactly how he had imagined his first kiss to go, with Zelda taking the reins, but he wasn’t complaining.

Before Zelda could pull back, Ganondorf set his hand against the back of her head, kissing her back to reciprocate her feelings.

When they finally did part for air, they pressed their foreheads together, eyes closed. Everything felt right. like they were supposed to do this.

“And I’ll love you tonight,” Brimstone warbled. “Like it’s the last night I’ll ever have. And we’ll wake up in each other’s arms come sunrise.”

* * *

The cucco’s crowing brought Ganondorf out of the confines of sleep and he grumbled to himself, rubbing his eyes. He squinted around the inn, noticing that beds were still made.

Had the village really not slept last night?

With a grunt, Ganondorf sat up, glancing beside him to see that Zelda was still asleep. He let her take the blanket to keep warm as he got dressed.

Outside, the villagers were cleaning up from the night before. Link was already at the cooking pot with Sidon, making some breakfast. He grinned at Ganondorf’s approach, a look in his eyes that told the redhead he knew what had transpired last night.

Ganondorf ignored the look, noticing they were missing two Zora. “Where are Bazz and Mipha?”

“Nearby,” Sidon said. “They’re saying farewell to the Sea Zora.”

 **They’re leaving already?** Link asked. **They’ve only been here a day!**

“That’s all they stay for,” Sidon explained. “Lay their eggs and fertilize them before leaving.”

“They _abandon_ their children?” Ganondorf asked, surprised.

Sidon chuckled, shaking his head. “No, no. Once the eggs begin to hatch, the Sea Zora return to protect them while they lead the hatchlings home.”

**Still weird.**

“Yes, it is strange for outsiders and non-Zora. But a way of life for them,” Sidon sighed. “I don’t think I would be able to handle leaving my future child alone in an ocean filled with Lizalfos and other predators.”

**It’d be like leaving a baby in the woods!**

Sidon laughed. “Right?”

“That smells good,” Zelda said as she approached the group, running her hand through her hair.

Link signed **Thank you** while Sidon smiled at Zelda.

The look said he knew as well, possibly due to scent.

As Zelda sat beside Ganondorf, the redhead shifted closer to her to rub her back.

While Link began to hand out some omelets, Mipha and Bazz approached the group.

“Good morning,” Sidon said as the other two Zora joined them.

“It most certainly is,” Mipha replied with a grin.

Link gave Bazz and Mipha their omelets.

As everyone began to eat, Link looked out to the island in the distance.

Sidon caught where the blond was looking. “Do you want to check it out?”

“The island?” Ganondorf asked, looking to the island.

“I wonder what it’s called?” Mipha murmured.

Ganondorf stood and made his way over to Helltrotter, taking the map out of the pack and returning to the group. He spread it on the ground, pointing to the island on the map.

“It doesn’t have a name?” Bazz asked, appearing intrigued.

 **We have to check it out,** Link said, grinning.

“Could be interesting,” Ganondorf admitted. “We have time.”

“We’ll take you there,” Mipha offered.

 **Island adventure!** Link signed excitedly, throwing his arms up.

* * *

Once breakfast had completed, the group grabbed extra rope and two extra shields.

Sidon pulled Ganondorf while Bazz and Mipha pulled Link and Zelda respectively.

With the Zora acting as their boat, the island was coming into sight quickly. Several feet away from the island, though, the Zora suddenly halted, throwing the three off their shields.

They landed in the shallows near the beach.

“What the hell?!” Ganondorf asked as he stood up, annoyed at the sudden stop.

The Zora appeared nervous, staying in the deeper water.

“Apologies!” Sidon called. “However, I’m afraid we must part here.”

“The island doesn’t want us,” Mipha said. “It’s keeping us from coming closer.”

“The island?” Zelda murmured.

 **Is it just an us thing?** Link asked.

“I suppose so,” Ganondorf sighed, wringing out his shirt. “Must be if they feel like they shouldn’t come closer.”

The three trudged out of the shallows. The second their feet touched the sandy beach, a voice stopped them.

**_Welcome to Eventide Island, chosen ones. I have been awaiting your arrival._ **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Make sure you remember that song. Gonna tell you what's happening next chapter lol  
> And yeaah finally the Zelgan is real y'all  
> now just gotta get two more idiots together.


	33. Arc 1: Eventide Island and Blood Moons

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It hasn't been two weeks yet xD  
> I got into a bit of 'didn't want to write' shit D: but now I'm back and will be focusing on Ancestor's and possibly an original story.  
> Anyway we have passed Epic territory ladies and gents xD and this story will keep giong

** Been waiting for us?  ** Link asked, glancing at Zelda and Ganondorf.

“Since when is nothing waiting for us?” Ganondorf muttered. “Something is always waiting.”

“Right you are, Demon King,” a voice said behind the trio.

All three immediately turned around, coming face to face with an older man wearing a yellow robe with white markings and sleeves.

Ganondorf narrowed his eyes at the man, taking in the white mustache and bald head. Why did he seem so familiar?

“Rauru?” Zelda asked, surprised at the sage’s appearance. “Why are you here?”

Rauru. So that was why he was familiar. One of the Sages from the Era of Time.

“The Sacred Realm is well-guarded, Your Highness,” Rauru murmured. “I was told by a voice that I was to wait here for the ones of legend to arrive.”

He stroked his chine, eyeing the three in turn.

“Though I didn’t expect this. Playing at being the hero now, are we, Ganondorf Dragmire?”

Ganondorf gave a growl.

Zelda set a hand on his arm to calm him before she gave a slight scowl at Rauru. “He’s not who you think he is.”

“A Lizalfos cannot change its camouflage.”

Zelda bit her tongue so she wouldn’t tell Rauru he was wrong about Lizalfos. They could change their camouflage in all technicality to suit their enviornment.

Rauru cleared his throat. “Anyway, you three are free to take the challenge the island and I offer or leave.”

**We can just leave?** Link asked, appearing suspicious of how easy that was.

“Of course.” Rauru nodded. “This island holds a subterranean temple that will offer you a prize should you complete its trial.”

“That sounds easy enough,” Ganondorf said.

They had done a lot of temples. What was one more?

“But,” Rauru added, holding up a finger. “The island requests that you give up what you have become accustomed to using during your journey.”

“Huh?” Zelda asked, tilting her head. “What do you mean?”

“The items that you have become comfortable with using are the Master Sword, the Light Bow and Arrows, and….” Rauru locked gazes with Ganondorf. “Your humanity.”

Ganondorf gave a short laugh. “Yeah, we’re leaving.”

“Gan,” Zelda murmured.

“I’m not going to let him turn me into Ganon because some island says so.”

“If you’re worried about rampaging, I still have the song.” Zelda set her hand on Ganondorf’s arm. “I trusted you to go easy and slow with me last night, so now I ask that you trust me.”

Ganondorf looked away before he sighed. “All right. I trust you.”

Zelda smiled, hugging Ganondorf’s waist.

Rauru watched their interaction blankly. “Are you all in accord?”

Link looked at Zelda and Ganondorf. When he saw their expressions, he nodded.

“We are,” Ganondorf muttered.

“Excellent.” Rauru snapped his fingers.

The Master Sword disappeared from Link’s back. When Zelda tried to summon the Light Bow, she found she couldn’t. Beside them, Ganondorf shifted into Ganon, more annoyed than his companions.

“Find the three keys to open the temple’s door,” Rauru said. “One lies atop Koholit Rock, one with a gold Moldorm, and one among the monsters set up along the eastern shore.”

Link nodded while Zelda rubbed Ganon’s arm.

Rauru disappeared, leaving the three alone.

“Where do we start?” Zelda asked, glancing around to see if she could spot anything that told them where to go.

Ganon gave a low rumble as he also looked around. Even with his height advantage he couldn’t see much above the trees that grew along the island. Rearing up onto his hind legs, Ganon glanced around.

The rocky tower to the back was possibly Koholit Rock. A patch of open area sat in front of it with a small cliff that held a tiny monster camp. To the east he saw the other monster camp, four Bokoblin in a makeshift tower.

Carefully dropping down, Ganon gestured to the east.

“Eastern monster camp?” Zelda asked.

He gave short nod.

** Sounds like a plan,  ** Link said, shouldering his bow.

Without the Master Sword he would have to rely on long range attacks while Zelda relied on close range with her short sword.

Ganon let Zelda and Link take the lead as they neared the monster camp.

Wood slats and large bone pieces wrapped with fiber enclosed the trunk of the tree.

He could easily destroy the four Bokoblins that guarded the lookout, but didn’t want to take all the glory.

One of the archers caught sight of the three first and was about to alert the others when it was silenced by an arrow lodging in its throat.

Ganon watched as Zelda took the lead, running up the stairs to meet one of the Bokoblins that was coming down to investigate.

Link shot down another archer that was aiming at Zelda.

A noise caught Ganon’s attention and he looked behind him.

The golden head of a Moldorm was poking up out of the ground nearby. Between its pinchers was a shiny key marked with Nayru’s symbol.

As Ganon stared at it, the Moldorm appeared to laugh at him before disappearing beneath the ground.

Ganon glanced at Zelda and Link to see that they were still occupied with the Bokoblins. He began to search for the Moldorm, deciding to take care of it on his own.

As he neared the clearing, the Moldorm popped up from the ground again.

Ganon tried to pounce on it but it ducked underground again.

A nip at his heels signaled where it was and Ganon turned around, swatting at it and missing.

Growing annoyed at the Moldorm’s little peek-a-boo game, Ganon stuck his muzzle into one of the holes the Moldorm had created, blowing a blast of fire to smoke the monster out.

As he predicted, the Moldorm leaped out of the ground with a shriek. Before it landed on the ground, Ganon caught it with his claws and slammed it down, squashing it.

_ I don’t like games,  _ he thought as the Moldorm disappeared in a puff of smoke. ****

“You got another key?” Zelda asked as she and Link approached Ganon.

Ganon nodded, gesturing to the key the Moldorm left behind.

“Nayru, huh?” Zelda murmured as Link picked the key up. “We got a key with Din’s mark.”

**So the last key must be Farore’s mark,** Link said, looking towards Koholit Rock.

Getting to the top would usually take some climbing, but Ganon lowered himself to allow Link and Zelda onto his head. On his hind legs he reached the point’s top and allowed Zelda and Link to take care of the three Bokoblin and one Moblin camped at the top.

With the last key in hand, the island rumbled.

Ganon looked down to see that a door had appeared in the face of Koholint Point.

“This must be the temple door,” Zelda said after Ganon helped them to the ground.

The door had three empty slots, each marked with a different symbol.

Link matched the symbols with the correct key.

The keys turned on their own, unlocking the door which slid open, revealing an area large enough for Ganon to walk through.

The three walked past the threshold, torches along the walls springing to life all on their own.

The room they came into had three enormous boxes along with markings on the floors. A second ledge held two switches. While Zelda looked up at the upper area, figuring a way to get up there, Link tried to move the boxes but found he couldn’t with their size. Ganon gave a low grumble before he lowered his head.

Zelda looked at him then at Link. “Ganon has the solution!”

Link returned to the other two and climbed onto Ganon’s head.

Ganon let the two off on the upper ledge and without prompting they stood on the two switches that were there. The switches caused the markings on the floor to become raised, creating their own switches. Ganon used his tusks to slide the boxes onto the correct switches and once all three were in their place, a door to the next room opened.

“I see,” Zelda murmured as Ganon helped her and Link back to the ground. “We have to use Ganon’s strength for the solutions.”

Ganon gave a low grunt. At least he could still be useful in the temple.

The next room held a ball attached to a heavy-duty metal chain, a grated door on the left wall that held a small box within it, and a square indent in a door at the far end.

** How do we do this one?  ** Link asked while Zelda looked around.

“Perhaps….the ball and chain can be pulled down and it opens that grate?” Zelda suggested, pointing to the ball and chain then grated door in turn.

Ganon decided to go ahead and try her suggestion, grabbing the ball with his paw and pulling it down.

As she predicted, the grated door slid up, allowing access to the box.

Link entered the small room, picking up the box and making his way over to the door with the indent. He slid the box into the indent and it clicked into place.

Ganon released the ball as the door to the third room opened.

“This isn’t so bad so far,” Zelda said. “We’ve been in harder ones.”

_Don’t jinx it,_ Ganon thought with a roll of his eyes.

The third room held what appeared to be two statues. One was complete while the other was broken into pieces.

** So, we just put the statue back together?  ** Link asked while Zelda looked at the intact statue.

She nodded. “It appears that way.”

Ganon stared at the intact statue, noticing that it appeared to be of the Golden Three. Looking at the broken statue, he picked up a piece then set it onto the stump.

The piece melded itself with the statue’s base, showing that he was right with his choice.

With that settled, Ganon slowly repaired the statue, each right piece fusing to show he was right, until the statue was complete.

Once it was finished the statues sunk down slightly into the floor and a door to the fourth room opened up.

The fourth room appeared to be much like the first room with three boxes and an upper ledge. The upper ledge this time was higher than the first and even on his hind legs, Ganon couldn’t reach it.

** How do we do this one?  ** Link asked, staring up at the ledge.

“Well…” Zelda looked at the floor but didn’t see any sort of marks that told her the boxes needed to be put in a specific spot. “Perhaps…the boxes are to be balanced on his head and we use them to get to the ledge?”

Ganon gave an annoyed huff at the suggestion, snorting.

“We can at least try it, can’t we?”

With a low grumble, Ganon scooped the boxes into a stack then carefully pushed them up onto his head. Link and Zelda got onto his back and held on as Ganon once again tried to reach the upper ledge, this time positioning himself so that the boxes were right below it.

With the combined height, it was just enough for Zelda and Link to carefully climb the boxes and hop onto the ledge.

The ledge held two buttons which they pushed. A door opened up, leading to what was hopefully the last room.

Once Zelda and Link had returned to his back, Ganon dumped the boxes onto the ground, shaking his head before heading through the doorway.

The last room they came into was empty except for a pedestal holding three items that looked like gemstones. One was red, one was blue, and one was green.

After Ganon let them onto the ground, Zelda approached the items, picking up the blue stone to inspect it. “It has Nayru’s symbol on it.”

Link picked up the green gem, noticing Farore’s symbol.

“Those are very special stones,” Rauru said, appearing behind the pedestal. “Din’s Power, Nayru’s Wisdom, and Farore’s Courage are all said to be created from the tears of the Golden Three.”

“What do they do?” Zelda asked, looking at her gemstone.

“They’re barriers to protect the holder from harm. A fire, ice, and wind barrier.”

**How do we activate them?** Link said, shaking his gem.

“Keep them on your person at all times and they’ll activate when you need them most.”

Of course, nothing was easy.

Ganon gave a low grumble as he rolled his eyes.

“Ah, yes. I did make a promise, didn’t I?” Rauru murmured, snapping his fingers.

The Master Sword appeared on Link’s back and Ganon shifted back to his human form.

Ganondorf scowled at Rauru, snatching Din’s Power before walking away.

Zelda sighed, not expecting any sort of thank you from the redhead. She gave a quick bow. “Thank you, Sage Rauru.”

Rauru gave a slight nod. “Be careful on your journey, Your Highness.”

He watched as the three left, rubbing his chin.

“I hope you’ll be prepared for the future.”

* * *

The sun was beginning to set by the time the group returned to Lurelin.

The Zora had patiently waited by Eventide Island for the three to return instead of leaving.

Zelda was grateful for that. The Zora didn’t have to stay who knew how long for them to return.

“You get anything interesting for your trouble?” Bazz asked while Link began to make dinner for the group.

Zelda showed her gem of Nayru’s Wisdom to the Zora. “Just this.”

“You all got one?” Mipha questioned, taking the gem to inspect it closer.

Ganondorf nodded. “Yeah. They’re some sort of barriers.”

“Like shields?” Sidon gasped. “Can you show us?”

“They apparently only activate when we need them.”

Mipha hummed. “So perhaps during battles?”

“Or hours of need,” Bazz said.

“I suppose we’ll see,” Ganondorf muttered, glancing up at the sky.

It wasn’t quite dark enough yet and the moon had yet to make an appearance.

Zelda saw his concern and slid closer to him, setting her hand on top of his.

He glanced at Zelda and she gave him a reassuring smile. He smiled back, shifting their hands so he held hers, giving it a squeeze.

If something happened during the blood moon, he trusted that Zelda would do something to stop it as quickly as possible. He also hoped that all he would have was nightmares.

The Malice was weak enough from the cleansing springs that it couldn’t possibly try anything, right?

* * *

**_ Let’s have some fun, shall we? _ **

* * *

**__ ** Zelda woke up to the smell of smoke. At first, she thought it was because someone had started a fire outside for warmth or to cook something, but then she heard the panicked screams.

Throwing the covers off, Zelda quickly glanced around the inn to see that no one was there. Hopping out of bed, she rushed out of the inn, freezing on the wooden porch when she saw the source of the smoke.

Lurelin was on fire. The embers from the flames were crackling into the sky, mixing with the quickly fading red streaks left behind by the blood moon.

The villagers were scrambling around with buckets of water to try and douse the fires. The Zora and Link were helping them.

Zelda glanced around for Ganondorf and soon spotted him on the beach nearby, staring out at the ocean. She ran over to him, grabbing his arm. “Gan, what happened? Why is Lurelin on fire?”

Ganondorf glanced at her and Zelda immediately put distance between them, the Light Bow coming to her hand. Ganondorf’s eyes were completely black save for the orange slit of pupil.

The burning of Lurelin was the Malice’s doing.

Ganondorf smiled as he turned to face Zelda. “What? You don’t like what I did to the village?”

“Let Gan go,” Zelda hissed, firing a Light Arrow at Ganondorf. 

To her surprise he caught the arrow mid-flight and though it burned his hand, he twirled it.

“I don’t think I will this time.” Ganondorf threw the arrow back at Zelda who scrambled to avoid it. “Hyrule will burn, starting with this pathetic village.”

Something caught Ganondorf’s attention and he turned slightly, catching the pole of a spear that had been aimed at him. He scowled at Bazz who was pushing against his grip. “What do you think you’re doing, you stupid fish?”

Bazz grinned. “Haven’t you ever heard of a distraction before?”

Ganondorf narrowed his eyes at the Zora before he turned to look at Zelda just as she fired another Light Arrow. This time it hit its mark: his right shoulder.

With a scream, Ganondorf shoved Bazz back, grabbing the arrow’s shaft as he fell to one knee.

Zelda cautiously approached Ganondorf, keeping an arrow nocked just in case the Malice hadn’t been driven back. “Gan...?”

Ganondorf glanced up and Zelda was relieved to see his golden eyes.

“Thanks,” Ganondorf muttered, slowly getting to his feet.

Bazz left the two alone, resuming his job to help put out the fires.

Ganondorf looked at he village which was slowly being saved by the villagers’ desperate attempts. “This is my fault.”

“It was the Malice, Gan. Not you.”

“I still let it overtake me.”

Zelda grabbed his arm. “It wasn’t you, okay? Don’t blame yourself for this.”

Ganondorf glanced at her somberly but nodded. He left to help the villagers finish putting out the flames.

Zelda wasn’t sure if the villagers were aware of who had started the fire, but she was certain it would be safer for them to leave once the flames were out.

And that is exactly what the group did. Once the fires were out and the village was deciding how best to rebuild the damaged house, Ganondorf and the others left on their horses or on foot.

They made their way towards Akkala and even though he didn’t complain, Ganondorf kept the arrow in his shoulder, partly out of fear the Malice would return and partly out of repentance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I told you guys to pay special attention to Brimstone's song. He predicted what would happen this chapter xD  
> Anyway, hope you can't wait for the next chapter :) We're nearing the end of Arc one. Should be done about chapter....40-ish should I not add anything useless into chapters before or during them xD


	34. Arc 1: Akkala

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for putting my stories on AO3 members only but with that app still alive, I'm not gonna let that guy make money off my work. However if you do know of someone who needs an invite, I have 9 invites left :3  
> Anyway.  
> TW: Horse death.

The trip up towards Akkala was a tense, quiet one.

Ganondorf lead the group and didn’t say anything even as they neared the Akkala Citadel, a stronghold that housed several Hyrulean soldiers. They passed without incident, the bored soldiers barely glancing at them.

Zelda glanced at Link, not wanting to break the silence, once she had gotten the blond’s attention, she signed **Does he even know where we’re going?**

Link gave a shrug before replying **Maybe he’s waiting for Astrid?**

Astrid had yet to return after going on he trip to find the last temple.

Zelda idly nodded, looking back at Ganondorf. While she knew that was an easy explanation, she also knew that Ganondorf was probably lost in his thoughts, blaming himself for what happened to Lurelin.

The Zora were also quiet, aware of the tension Ganondorf emanated and not wanting to risk getting their heads bitten off by asking where they were going.

The sun was beginning to set, making the already orange leaves on the trees surrounding them look like they were on fire. They had been traveling nonstop the past four days, only stopping to eat and sleep. Of course, sleeping outside had its dangers and Zelda longed for a bed.

Approaching them was Tarrey Town, a small merchant town that catered to travelers and the town they had wanted to go to when they first started their journey. It had to have an inn.

Ganondorf appeared not to notice the town, steering Helltrotter towards the path that branched upwards.

Zelda quickly spurred Bluebell faster, cutting in front of Helltrotter’s path.

Helltrotter stopped and Ganondorf blinked out of whatever stupor he was in, looking down at Zelda.

“You’re passing Tarrey Town,” Zelda said.

Ganondorf glanced over his shoulder to stare back at Tarrey Town. He then shook his head.

Before he could say anything though, Zelda moved Bluebell to Ganondorf’s side, reaching up to touch his leg. “Gan, please. We need actual beds.”

Ganondorf looked at the others, noticing how exhausted they seemed.

The Stalmonsters had been a nuisance while they slept, forcing the group to either take turns or continue walking, limiting their amount of sleep.

Taking a breath, Ganondorf nodded. “All right. We’ll stay the night there.”

Zelda gave a relieved smile, squeezing Ganondorf’s leg.

The group turned around and headed back towards Tarrey Town. The Zora appeared excited at the water surrounding the town, running off to get their scales wet. While Zelda went to get them some beds, Ganondorf moved the horses to the side of the inn.

Link gave the horses an apple each, kissing Epona’s nose.

Ganondorf rubbed his knuckles against Helltrotter’s snout. “You keep those two in line.”

Helltrotter snorted, tossing his head.

Patting Helltrotter’s neck, Ganondorf followed Link.

Link glanced at Ganondorf, tapping his fingers against his thigh, before he poked Ganondorf’s arm.

Ganondorf glanced down at him with a quiet grunt.

**You all right?**

“I’m fine.”

Link gave him a doubtful look.

At the look, Ganondorf sighed. “Ah, I’m easy to read, huh?”

**You don’t mope quietly.**

“I wasn’t…moping.”

Link snorted loudly.

“Okay, fine. I was.”

**Because of what happened in Lurelin?**

“I could have killed people, Link.”

 **But you didn’t,** Link countered.

“I _could_ have though. It was bad enough I burned their houses.”

Link grabbed Ganondorf’s arm, halting the redhead, and stood in front of him. **Not you. Malice.**

“Malice, me. What’s the difference?”

Link scowled at Ganondorf. **Because you have a heart and a conscience. This doesn’t.**

“But the Malice and I—”

**Are two different beings. Just like you and your past selves are different.**

Ganondorf gave a quiet laugh. “You’re giving me the benefit of the doubt, huh?”

**I know who you are. What happened wasn’t your fault. The Malice was using you.**

Ganondorf sighed, his shoulders relaxing as the tension left him. “Thanks.”

Link moved forward to wrap his arms around Ganondorf’s waist, squeezing him as tight as possible.

With a chuckle, Ganondorf hugged him back. “You’re such a huge sap.”

Link leaned back so he could sign **You love me.**

“Actually, I’m supposed to hate you.”

Link pouted. **Mean.**

Ganondorf grinned, shoving Link’s head down as he ruffled Link’s hair. “Not my fault you’re so wimpy.”

Link swatted Ganondorf’s hand away, sticking his tongue out at him. **No dinner for you tonight.**

“Ah, come on, I was kidding!”

Zelda smiled as she approached during the middle of their playful arguing, glad to see Ganondorf back to normal.

The town had a Goron trader specializing in selling gemstones. He also sold some Goron spice which Link bought.

A Rito trader sold a variety of arrows as well as some Hylian rice and Tabantha wheat. Link bought a few arrows to add to his quiver as well as some of the rice and wheat.

While Link was gathering items to make dinner and what appeared to be dessert, the Zora returned from their swim, appearing satisfied.

A small cooking pot sat outside the inn and the group sat around it as Link began to cook.

Sidon, always eager to assist, helped Link with the meat curry.

While they all ate, Link began to make the dessert which appeared to be apple pie.

Everything returned to normal with the good food and the company shared.

Zelda snuck a glance at Ganondorf and was relieved to see that he appeared to be back to his normal self.

* * *

Before they left town the next morning, Ganondorf looked over the map to see if there was anything of interest in Akkala or if they were wasting their time.

After a bit of scanning, he pointed to a spot on the map near the top right corner. “Looks like a maze here.”

Link and Zelda looked at where he was pointing and saw a structure with squiggles.

“It does look like a maze,” Zelda admitted.

Link pointed to a building just below the maze.

Ganondorf looked at it, humming. “It says ‘Akkala Ancient Tech Lab’.”

“What does that mean?” Zelda asked.

“Guess we’ll find out when we get there.” Ganondorf folded the map up. “Looks like a stable is near it so we can stop there for the night.”

It sounded all right to everyone. The trip at least wasn’t in vain.

The group began their trek towards East Akkala Plains, the Zora amazed at how different the landscape was from Faron. It was mostly open plains with long grass and rolling hills. The trip remained quiet until Ganondorf paused, holding Helltrotter’s reins tightly.

Zelda looked to where his eyes were locked, spotting five horses coming towards them. She hoped they were merely a wild herd or a group of travelers much like themselves.

That was hoping too much.

Atop the horse’s backs were Bokoblins, lead by a silver one.

“They want a fight, huh?” Ganondorf mumbled, taking out one of his swords.

Link and Zelda withdrew their swords while the Zora also grabbed their weapons.

Before they could even charge at the oncoming Bokoblins, several Lizalfos leapt out from either side of the group, startling them.

“An ambush?!” Zelda gasped, swiping at one of the Lizalfos attempting to get on Bluebell’s back.

A black Lizalfos hopped onto Helltrotter’s haunches, screeching at Ganondorf.

With an annoyed grunt, Ganondorf stabbed the Lizalfos through the mouth then threw it on the ground. “Scatter!”

Everyone split up. The Zora began to take care of the Lizalfos while the other three took care of the Bokoblins riding the horses.

Ganondorf charged at one of the blue Bokoblin archers that was aiming towards the distracted Zora, slicing into its back with his sword.

It screeched and fell off its mount, the horse galloping off.

Helltrotter stomped the Bokoblin’s head in as Ganondorf scanned for his next target.

Zelda was holding her own against a black Bokoblin wielding a spear.

Link was outnumbered by the rest of the Bokoblins.

Two were keeping Link busy while the silver Bokoblin looped around behind the blond, bow drawn.

The arrow didn’t hit Link, instead burying itself into Epona’s haunch.

Epona reared up sharply at the pain, bucking Link off her back.

Ganondorf raced over to Link as the two Bokoblin chased after Epona, knocking the silver Bokoblin off its horse.

Link stabbed the Bokoblin through the chest while Ganondorf pierced its head.

Link then looked around quickly, searching for Epona and finding her several feet away.

She had knocked the two Bokoblin off their mounts and was currently stomping one to death.

Ganondorf grabbed Link by the back of the shirt, tossing him onto the saddle as he spurred Helltrotter towards Epona.

Epona set her sights on the other Bokoblin and reared up, ready to bludgeon it as well.

An arrow came from the side, piercing Epona’s skull.

The rage from Link was immediate the death of the Lizalfos by Zelda’s arrow even more so.

Ganondorf didn’t even have time to stop before Link leapt off Helltrotter to stab the Bokoblin, the last monster left from the ambush.

Even though it hadn’t been the one to fire the arrow, Link repeatedly stabbed the Bokoblin with furious grunts.

Ganondorf hopped down from Helltrotter, grabbing Link’s arm harshly to stop him. “It’s gone! You’ve killed it!”

Link stared at the space where the Bokoblin had been before he looked towards the motionless Epona, dropping the Master Sword.

“Oh, no,” Zelda whispered as she came to Ganondorf’s side. “Not Epona.”

Ganondorf was well aware of Link’s bond with Epona, the horse a constant companion through every cycle. The death had to be an excruciating lance through the heart.

Link gently patted Epona’s neck before he suddenly perked up, looking towards Mipha. He got up, grabbing her arm and pointing at Epona.

Mipha shook her head helplessly. “I’m sorry. I can’t….I can only heal wounds.”

Link deflated at that, ears drooping as he looked back at Epona.

Sidon hated seeing Link so desperate and in pain.

“We should keep moving,” Ganondorf murmured. “There could be more coming.”

 **Good!** Link signed angrily. **I’ll get revenge!**

“There isn’t any point in you dying as well, Link,” Zelda said. “I’m sorry, but Gan is right. We can’t handle another fight.”

Link looked torn between begin annoyed and upset. After a bit, he nodded.

The group slowly continued towards the stable, Link sitting behind Zelda on Bluebell.

The trip was silent, remaining so even as Zelda got beds for them and as Ganondorf got the two horses settle in for the night.

Since Link didn’t appear to be in the mood to make dinner, Sidon did it for him, making something that was easy.

The dinner was a quiet one until Bazz muttered, “What the heck is that thing?”

Everyone looked to see some small balloon-like thing perched on a hill nearby, glowing eerily against the night sky.

They all glanced at each other before standing and deciding to go check the strange thing out.

As they got closer, Ganondorf could see a peculiar being standing behind a counter and grabbed the hilt of his sword.

It looked like it was a monster but not one he was familiar with. Wait, one of its eyes looked like a button.

Whatever the being was sniffed and began muttering under its breath, “What is that smell? A Lynel? No…”

They turned around, startling both themselves and the group.

“Ahh! Oh….it’s just customers…”

“Customers?” Zelda asked, staring at the small man.

He looked Hylian but his skin was purple and he was too short.

The man bobbed his head eagerly. “Of course! I am Kilton, the proprietor of Fang and Bone.”

“Oh, you’re a merchant,” Mipha said, appearing relieved.

“Indeed! I just love monsters! I’ve dedicated my life to studying them.”

“What exactly do you sell?” Bazz asked suspiciously.

Kilton rubbed his hands together gleefully. “I’m glad you asked! I sell masks and monster extract.”

“Masks?” Sidon repeated, confused.

What did that have to do with monsters?

“Haven’t you ever wanted to be among monsters without them attacking you?”

The group looked at each other before muttering disagreements.

“Wrong!” Kilton slapped the counter, pointing at the group. “You have wanted to! That’s why I made these!”

Kilton ducked under the counter before plopping three masks onto it.

Ganondorf picked on up, staring at it skeptically.

It was a poorly sewn mask imitating a Bokoblin with buttons for eyes.

“I’ve tested them myself,” Kilton said proudly. “They work perfectly.”

He mumbled under his breath about still working on a Lynel mask.

“You don’t have a Hinox mask,” Sidon pointed out. “How come?”

“We don’t speak of the Hinox mask,” Kilton replied quickly. “No Hinox mask.”

“They’re quite adorable,” Mipha chuckled, inspecting the Lizalfos mask and squeezing it, amused when it squeaked like a Lizalfos. “How much are they?”

“299 Mon.”

“Huh?”

“Mon?” Zelda asked. “What’s that?”

“Currency that I created.”

Bazz tilted his head. “Aren’t Rupees good enough? Why create your own money?”

"To bring down the establishment and stick it to the man!” Kilton screeched, leaping onto the counter and throwing his hands into the air.

While the group all glanced at each other, Kilton flapped a hand.

“I just wanted to do it.” Kilton paused, suddenly zeroing in on Ganondorf as if he just noticed the redhead. He squinted then gasped, eyes widening. “In all my years! I didn’t think I’d be so honored to be in the presence of the mighty boar beast!”

“Huh?” Ganondorf muttered.

Before he could ask how Kilton recognized him, Kilton had already hopped down from the counter and was circling Ganondorf.

“Yes, yes, I see…”

Ganondorf squeaked as Kilton leaped onto his chest, grabbing his jaw and prying it open.

“No fangs?” Kilton clucked his tongue before grabbing Ganondorf’s hand. “No claws? Disappointing.”

Ganondorf growled at Kilton as the strange man jumped to the ground, offended.

 _He_ was disappointing? He would show that stuck up little—

Zelda grabbed Ganondorf’s arm, squeezing it slightly.

Ganondorf sighed, relaxing a bit. Oh well. Kilton wasn’t worth getting upset over.

“Even Malanya was more intimidating than you…” Kilton mumbled under his breath.

Ganondorf gave a low growl but ignored the slight.

“Malanya?” Sidon asked. “Is that a monster?”

“Oh, no. They’re a great fairy and said to have the power to revive any dead horse.”

Link perked up slightly.

“Never saw the power for myself though as I don’t have a horse.”

Zelda glanced up at the sky. “We should get going. It’s getting late.”

Kilton deflated a bit but he waved at the group as they walked away. “I’ll see you on another mysterious night, friends!”

Link hung back while the others left then turned his attention to Kilton. **Where is Malanya?**

“You want to meet them?”

Link nodded seriously.

Kilton hummed, rubbing his chin. “Let me think….”

* * *

The next morning, breakfast was quick. They were about a two hour walk from the maze.

Everything was peaceful, sitting outside in the early morning with the birds chirping.

**I want to go see Malanya.**

Ganondorf raised an eyebrow at the sudden statement. “The horse fairy? I suppose we can drop by if they’re close. Where are they?”

**Kilton said below Guchini Plain.**

With a hum, Ganondorf pulled out his map and scanned it, finding the location of Guchini Plain. He scoffed, closing the map. “We’re not going there.”

Link appeared offended, rapidly signing **Why not?!**

“It’s all the way back in Faron is why! That trip will take days!”

**But they can bring back Epona!**

“I don’t care if they can bring back the Great Sea! We’re not wasting a trip to see some fairy.”

Link hopped to his feet. **Then I’ll go on my own!**

“Then go! See if I care!”

Link kicked some dirt onto Ganondorf’s omelet before stomping over to the stable to borrow a horse.

Ganondorf sighed as he set his plate down.

Sidon appeared conflicted on whether he should follow Link or remain with the others.

“That wasn’t nice, Gan,” Zelda said, shooting the redhead a withering look. “He wants Epona back.”

“I know. But we’re too close to the maze to turn back now.”

“He’ll be fine on his own,” Bazz said. “He’s an excellent fighter.”

“Should we wait for his return?” Sidon asked. “Surely the maze won’t take several days.”

“We hope not,” Ganondorf grumbled. “Anyway, we should get going.”

Zelda watched as Link galloped off on his borrowed steed before she nodded with a sigh.

She hoped Link got what he wanted and that Malanya truly existed outside a strange man’s mind.

* * *

The building situated at the top of the hill appeared to have at one point been a light house. The top of the lighthouse had been destroyed, a telescope set atop it, pointing towards the ocean. The light from the lighthouse was on the ground.

“This is the lab?” Sidon asked while Bazz stared at what appeared to be a furnace situated just outside the front of the door emblazoned with a Sheikah symbol.

While the Zora inspected the strange place, Ganondorf and Zelda moved closer to the cliffside.

In the distance stood the last maze, jutting out of the ocean.

Zelda glanced over the cliff’s edge then at the maze. “How do we get there?”

“We could climb it.”

“That would take forever. If only we could fly.”

Ganondorf hummed, crossing his arms as he glanced back at the lab. “Perhaps whoever owns this lab could help us?”

“You think?” Zelda asked, following Ganondorf back to the lab.

“I said perhaps.” Ganondorf knocked on the door. He stared at the Sheikah symbol but hoped that if a Sheikah did live there they wouldn’t recognize him.

After a few minutes of waiting, the door finally opened, revealing a man in his early thirties. The man had the typical white hair of the Sheikah, cut into strange wing shapes. Goggles covered his eyes.

The man stared at the five before him with a low hum, pushing his goggles up slightly. “What do you want?”

“We were wondering if you could help us?” Zelda asked hopefully. “That maze across the way, we’d like to go there.”

The man sniffed before he moved aside to allow them in. “Been working on a way to get there but Cherry’s on the fritz.”

“Cherry?” Ganondorf mumbled as he glanced around.

Along the walls were blueprints and diagrams of various things. Bookshelves and a desk were along another wall. In the middle of the room was a strange device that looked like some sort of being, rings attached to the side of its head rotating slowly.

“This is Cherry.” The man patted the device. “She uses resources to create new things, like a glider.”

“A glider?” Sidon asked.

“A device that can make even a Hylian fly like a Rito! Well, glide. But same difference. Name’s Robbie.”

 _Robbie?_ Zelda wondered. _Why does that name sound familiar?_

“Anyway, the furnace outside decided to die and I haven’t gotten around to getting the Blue Flame.” Robbie scratched his neck before he perked up. “Ah, you could do it! We both want the glider so it’s a win-win.”

“We just get the flame and bring it back here?” Ganondorf asked.

Robbie nodded. “Yes.”

“Seems easy enough,” Bazz admitted. “We could do it.”

“I don’t see why not,” Zelda said.

It wasn’t like it would take long anyway. So, the group headed down to the main furnace where a Blue Flame sat. Using a torch to hold the flame, they returned to Robbie’s place to light the furnace. With the flame as its power source, Cherry was back up and running.

Shoving several items into Cherry’s mouth rewarded Robbie with pieces of the glider which he put together. Once he was done, he held it up. “There we go! One glider for you.”

“I think we need two,” Ganondorf muttered. “That can’t support two people.”

“How do you know if you don’t try?”

 _I’d rather not plummet to my death,_ Ganondorf and Zelda thought at the same time.

They took the glider though and while the Zora hung back, figured out the easiest way to get to the maze.

Ganondorf held onto the glider’s handles while Zelda was on his back.

“Are you sure you want to do this?” Zelda asked.

“If it fails, I’ll change to Ganon to cushion our fall,” Ganondorf muttered as he backed up.

None of what they were about to do screamed safe. They had no other choice though.

Ganondorf ran forward and jumped off the cliff.

Instead of collapsing under their weight, the glider supported them with ease and the maze slowly came closer.

Zelda held onto Ganondorf tightly but dug her nails into his shoulders when she noticed something. “Gan…”

“I see it too.”

Nearing the maze they saw the red lights of four flying machines hovering above the maze. Several spots were guarded by stationary machines. The style revealed them as Sheikah machines and Ganondorf wondered why there were there.

When they touched down at the maze’s entrance, the glider folded in on itself until it became a single stick.

Ganondorf set the stick against the entrance.

It didn’t take long before a huge dragon shot up from the ground outside the maze. Zmaj’s scales were pale green, golden swirls marking them. A curved horn like a crescent moon sat atop their head as the serpentine dragon perched on the top of the maze.

“You are lacking a member,” Zmaj rumbled, staring down at the two.

“He’s busy,” Ganondorf said. “Do we need him for this maze?”

“Hrm…no. The prize will find its way to him.” Zmaj held out a claw and Ganondorf set Farosh’s scale on it. “Good luck, young ones.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So yeah. Robbie's place isn't littered with Guardians this time for reasons lol  
> And yeah you can pretty much expect the next chapter to be fun >:)  
> I hope you enjoy and maybe soon I can put this story off lockdown


	35. Arc 1: Maze of Courage

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is my favorite maze and I went indulgent on adding more Guardians than necessary as well one that behaves differently. I also love Malanya and Kilton if you couldn't tell xD  
> princessofthieves, this is for you :) Thanks for encouraging me in my moment of doubt

Link traveled nonstop to where Kilton had told him Malanya was hidden.

_“Let me think….it was just past Highland Stable. Ibara Butte.” Kilton paused before giggling. “Butte…”_

**_Will the people at Highland Stable know of Malanya?_ ** _Link asked impatiently, hoping Kilton would get back to telling him about the horse god._

_“Oh, yes. Didn’t you know that the horse head atop each stable isn’t a decoration? It’s a tribute to Malanya.”_

_A tribute, huh? Then first order was to get to the stable._

**_Thanks._ ** _Link gave a wave before walking to rejoin the others._

_“See you again, my friend!”_

Link spotted the stable as he came into Fural Plain, speeding up his horse a bit.

The horse nickered in complaint about the rough treatment.

Link patted the horse’s neck. He would give it an apple for its service and it wouldn’t have to worry about him again.

If Kilton was correct about Malanya’s powers, he would soon be with Epona once again.

Once Highland Stable came into view, Link hopped down from the horse, leading it to the stable’s owner.

**I borrowed this horse from another stable. Is it all right to leave it here?**

“Of course!” the owner said, nodding as he signaled for a ranch hand to take the horse. “We’ll make sure to send this fine equine back to their rightful stable.”

**And do you know where Malanya is?**

The stable owner became somber and even the ranch hand appeared nervous at the sound of Malanya’s name.

“You have business with the horse god?” the owner questioned.

Link nodded, not sure why everyone had suddenly gotten quiet.

Were they afraid of Malanya?

“I see….well, this path curves to the left.” The owner gestured to the dirt road arcing around a deep pond. “Go straight and you should cross a bridge. He won’t be too difficult to see.”

 **Thank you,** Link said before making his way to the path.

“Why would a kid like him wat to see the horse god?” a ranch hand muttered, watching Link’s retreating back.

“It’s highly probably he lost a dear horsey friend,” the owner murmured. “Or it’s morbid curiosity. Malanya is quite…the character.”

Link stared up at the rocky walls steadily growing taller with each step. As he followed the path, a bridge crossing high over a small river came into view. The rocks were turning bone white with pock holes.

Crossing the bridge led Link to a small dead end that had two deep ponds on either side. He looked into one of the ponds curiously and spotted a bunch of eerie purple flowers beneath the water, seemingly pulsing with light.

The flowers made him uneasy and Link continued to the huge fountain at the far end of the area. Steps made from mushrooms lead up to the fountain which seemed to be surrounded by enormous purple flower petals.

Link stepped up to the sparkling water, peering into it.

How was he going to get Malanya to reveal himself? It wasn’t like he could just _ask_ Malanya to come up.

Kneeling down, Link patted the water to make it ripple, hoping that would be enough to lure Malanya out.

Shortly after stepping back, the water rippled more before two hands gripped the sides of the fountain, nails filed to a point.

Link was quick to notice that the hands appeared to be disembodied.

The mask that appeared on every stable lifted itself from the water, twisting and turning as vertebrate came after it, supporting the mask. Patches of mismatched cloth was stitched together around the lower half of the fairy, creating a mimic of a skirt.

The air fell a few degrees, creating a slight chill.

Link stared up at the fairy in awe. Malanya wasn’t like any fairy he remembered seeing. He lacked an actual body.

“Who dares to touch my waters?” Malanya boomed.

Link gave a slight wave when Malanya’s head turned down to look at him.

“Hm? A visitor?”

**My name is Link.**

Malanya leaned down and Link took a nervous step back. “Ah, you speak the language of hands. What do you need, voiceless one?”

**You can bring back dead horses?**

“That I can. However, should the death of your horse have any malicious intent behind it, I will punish you severely for your vile actions!” Malanya leaned even closer to Link, hands threateningly coming closer as fingers curled.

Before Link could do anything, Malanya pulled back with an eerie laugh.

“I jest, of course. You have no evil intent in you, young one. Which horse do you wish to revive?”

**Epona.**

“Ah, yes. I see. She died fighting an ambush of monsters. A brave soul. For you, voiceless one, I will revive her for free. This time.”

 _This time?_ Link wondered as Malanya began to wave his hands in complicated gestures, mask whirling with every movement as if it had a mind of its own.

There was a whinny and Link whirled to see Epona standing a few feet away. He gave an excited gasp, running over to hug her neck.

Epona nickered, lowering her head down in return.

“Please do be careful with your companion in the future,” Malanya murmured. “She’s a special horse.”

Link nodded, signing a quick **Thank you** at Malanya. As he got into the saddle, his hand itched and he looked at it to see the Triforce beginning to glow.

That could only mean that Zelda and Ganondorf needed help.

Turning Epona around, Link spurred her into a gallop.

“Fare thee well, hero of Hyrule,” Malanya said as he watched the blond depart.

* * *

Ganondorf pulled Zelda into the alcove with him as the angered machine stomped past.

“How are we supposed to get to the center of the maze with all these machines wandering around?” Zelda muttered, poking her head around the corner to see that the machine wasn’t an angry red anymore and had resumed its patrol route.

“Guardians.”

“What?” Zelda asked, looking at Ganondorf incredulously.

“We’ll call them Guardians. Why else would they be here? They’re _guarding_ something.”

“You have a wry sense of humor.”

Ganondorf gave a mock bow. “I try, princess. Now as for our plan, I suppose we can just begin killing them.”

“What about the ones up there?” Zelda pointed to the Guardian above them, head swiveling.

It was stationary and acted more like a turret, able to spot them even from its height.

“Arrows,” Ganondorf decided. “The eye is a weakness. I’ll draw its line of sight; you shoot its eye.”

“What about the others?”

The flying ones didn’t see to be able to see them. The bigger one stalking the entrance to the maze couldn’t fit in the smaller halls of the maze. Tiny Guardians stalked the corridors, some wielding glowing blue axes, swords or spears.

“Easily taken care of.” Ganondorf grinned. “You trust me, right?”

Zelda sighed, staring at the confident redhead. She did trust him. He had the strength on his side and she had the wits. A few Guardians wouldn’t stand a chance against their combined power.

“All right,” she relented. “I trust you. What do we do?”

“Get to the center. Any Guardians in our way get destroyed.”

After checking to make sure the coast was clear, the two resumed trying to get through the maze, they mostly stuck to the walls, limiting their chances of getting caught by the Guardians positioned on the tops of the walls. The few smaller Guardians they did run into were easily dispatched with an arrow or a sword to the eye.

“What do you think is in the center?” Zelda asked as Ganondorf stabbed another Guardian. “It’s for Link, but it’s not something he needs to be physically here for.”

“Could be something to do with the Master Sword,” Ganondorf said. “Or giving him a magic power.”

Zelda made a noncommittal noise. “I guess we’ll see when we get to the center.”

Traversing the rest of the maze, Ganondorf and Zelda made it to the center where a pedestal was.

“The indent sure does look like the Master Sword,” Zelda said.

“How do we activate it?” Ganondorf muttered, looking the pedestal over and touching it.

“Zmaj said we don’t need Link, but maybe we asked the wrong question. Maybe we need the Master Sword?”

Ganondorf sighed. “So, we came here for nothing.”

“I’m not sure.” Zelda touched the podium and it lit up under her touch. Startled, she stepped back as the light lifted off the pedestal like raindrops in reverse before merging into an orb.

The orb circled the pedestal before zooming off in the direction of Akkala.

“Is that going to Link?” Ganondorf asked as the orb vanished from sight.

“I think?” Zelda muttered uncertainly.

* * *

The Zora watched the maze in the distance, waiting for the return of Zelda and Ganondorf.

“Do you think they’re done yet?” Bazz asked. “It’s been a while.”

“It might be difficult without Link,” Mipha said. “We don’t know what challenges they’re facing.”

Sidon tilted his head when there was a change in the atmosphere and he looked over his shoulder to see Link on Epona, galloping towards them. “Link’s back!”

“Already?” Bazz asked, standing as Link pulled the reins to stop Epona. “You weren’t gone very long.”

 **Epona fast,** Link signed hastily, running to the edge of the cliff. **Not back yet?**

“We were hoping they would be before you returned,” Mipha said.

Link didn’t know how he was going to get to the maze. It wasn’t like he could fly.

A golden orb flew towards Link and arced behind him, sinking into the Master Sword’s hilt.

Link withdrew the Master Sword to see the blade lit up with a faint light. He looked back towards the maze in the distance. Did that mean they were done? He hoped the Triforce still itching the back of his hand was wrong about the danger posed to Zelda and Ganondorf.

* * *

A scraping noise caused Zelda’s ear to twitch and she glanced behind her to see an opening in the floor with stairs descending downward.

Ganondorf stared at the opening warily. “What’s down there?”

“Perhaps something we need to see?” Zelda suggested.

“Or death.”

“That too.”

Ganondorf glanced at Zelda before he took her hand, squeezing it with a grin. “What’s a little danger?”

“It could be a lot of danger,” Zelda muttered, but allowed Ganondorf to lead her to the stairs. “We don’t know what’s down there.”

“Could be treasure.”

“Or death,” Zelda countered sourly.

Ganondorf gave a slight laugh. “Or that.”

As they descended to the bottom of the steps, Zelda looked around to see a broad open area with a few pillars pressing against the ceiling.

Scattered around were empty hulls of large Guardians.

“Why are there so many?” Zelda muttered. “This place is empty.”

“Not completely empty,” Ganondorf said, pointing to a singular chest in the middle of the room.

“That’s not suspicious.” Zelda glanced around at the Guardians warily.

None of them seemed active. Rust covered them and many lacked legs. Out of the twenty in the room, only four had legs.

Something still bothered her. There were so many Guardians for a single chest. What was in that chest that was so important?

Ganondorf was already going to the chest and Zelda quickly followed him.

“I don’t think you should open it.”

“We have to see what they’re guarding. Could be valuable to our mission.”

“Or it could be a trap!” Zelda hissed. “They’re guarding the chest for a reason.”

“Then it must be something good.” Ganondorf knelt down and unlatched the chest, opening the top. He stared at what was inside, expression conflicted. “No way...”

“What? It was a trap, wasn’t it? I told you—”

“No. It’s…my diadem.” Ganondorf puled out a golden circlet inlaid with a topaz stone. The handiwork screamed Gerudo craftsmanship. “Why is it here?”

“With the Guardians too…” Zelda muttered, looking at the diadem.

How had it even gotten to the remote maze and when? By whom?

“Why do you think there are so many Guardians for it?”

“To protect it,” Ganondorf said, sliding the circlet on his head, the gem covering the scar on his forehead. “Or to prevent me from getting it.”

The air in the area suddenly shifted and out of the corner of Zelda’s eye she spotted one of the Guardians coming to life, head lifting then swiveling as if stretching.

In a chain reaction, several more of the legless Guardians and the four Guardians with legs all lit up blue. Their heads pivoted and locked onto the two, targeting beams all concentrating on Ganondorf.

There was a slam and Zelda didn’t need to look behind her to know the exit had closed. Another test or a trap. She hoped it was the former.

Ganondorf pulled Zelda behind one of the closest pillars, blocking them from the view of the Guardians.

“What do we do about so many?” Zelda asked.

“Take care of the ones that can’t move first.”

“What about the walking ones?” Zelda peeked around the pillar to see that the walking Guardians were stomping around in search of them.

“We take care of them one at a time.”

“Can’t you just change to Ganon and stomp them all?”

“Space is too small and these pillars support the floor above us. I’d rather not destroy them.”

Zelda sighed. It had been worth a shot.

She took out the Light Bow and an arrow, leaning around the corner to shoot the nearest Guardian’s eye.

Its lights flickered before fading.

Ganondorf ran out and drove one of his blades into another Guardian’s eye.

The remaining Guardians locked onto him with beeps.

Zelda shot another one while Ganondorf took the closest one, stabbing its eye with his second blade. Then he ducked behind the Guardian’s empty shell as the others fired their beams, all of them striking the metal, heating it up from the force.

Zelda shot at two more of the stationary Guardians, leaving the last two for Ganondorf.

Once it was safe, Ganondorf ran out from his cover, throwing one of his swords at the Guardian nearest to him. The blade pierced its eye and Ganondorf grinned as he drove his second blade through the last stationary Guardian’s eye.

With them taken care of the only threat were the four walking Guardians which were stalking closer to him.

Taking his sword from the Guardian, Ganondorf faced the four Guardians.

An arrow struck one of the Guardians, wedging into its circuitry and causing it to shudder before collapsing.

Two of the Guardians swiveled their heads to look at Zelda before stomping over to her.

Ganondorf glanced at her, but he knew she could handle herself and focused his attention back on the Guardian in front of him. He stepped to the side as it fired its beam, barely avoiding the heat of the blue energy.

As the Guardian targeted him again, Ganondorf rushed it and leaped up, ready to drive both of his swords into its eye.

There was a blur of white and something struck him in the side, sending him crashing to the floor. With a grunt, Ganondorf used one of his swords to pull himself into a standing position, staring at the Guardian as it approached him.

Had it hit him to prevent his attack?

As the Guardian got closer, Ganondorf tossed one of his swords at it.

It lifted a leg to swat the blade away.

Oh, great. A smart Guardian. Just what they needed.

Ganondorf glanced at Zelda to see that she was down to one Guardian. She was handling herself just fine. He looked back at his own foe, planning on how to take it down. He could slide under it to get around behind it then he could get at its eye while it was distracted. Ganondorf charged the Guardian and dropped to the ground just as it fired its laser, sliding beneath it. Something grabbed the back of his jacket, hauling him out from under the Guardian and into the air. Before he had time to react to the fact the Guardian’s claws had grabbed him, the Guardian tossed him away from it.

“Gan!” Zelda yelled as the redhead struck one of the pillars. She fired a Light Arrow at the offending Guardian but it swatted the arrow away.

It looked toward her but instead of changing her it made its way over to the fallen Ganondorf.

Dazed from the blow, Ganondorf struggled to get to his feet. He looked up just as the Guardian’s foot slammed him into the pillar.

The Guardian slid him up higher, pressing its foot against him harder, Ganondorf’s already abused ribs protesting against the weight.

Ganondorf had already dropped his sword from the attack and with his arms pinned to his sides, he couldn’t counterattack with his fire magic.

The Guardian was targeting his forehead.

Zelda suddenly appeared between Ganondorf and the Guardian, holding up a hand. “Leave him alone!”

The gem that contained Nayru’s Wisdom flew out of Zelda’s pocket, glowing brightly before releasing a blue barrier that surrounded Zelda. Its surface was coated in frozen crystals and the second they touched the Guardian, a coat of ice enveloped it.

Ganondorf stared at the frozen guardian which looked more like an ice sculpture someone had cared rather than a real thing.

Zelda appeared just as surprised as Nayru’s Wisdom faded and dropped to the ground. She gabbed the gem and put it in her pocket before looking at Ganondorf. “I’ll get you down.”

“Take your time…”

Zelda grabbed Ganondorf’s nearby sword and tried to lift it.

Despite its appearance, it was as heavy as a claymore and Zelda struggled to get it above her head before using its weight to drop it down on the Guardian’s leg which shattered from the force.

Ganondorf dropped to the ground then to his knees, one hand wrapped around his chest.

Zelda released the sword and ran over to him. “You okay?”

“Pride wise? All right. I think it cracked a few ribs.”

“Mipha will heal you. Let me get your swords.”

As Zelda ran off to find the second sword, Ganondorf stared at the frozen Guardian. “Didn’t know it could do stuff like that.”

Zelda glanced at the Guardian as she tugged the sword over. “Me either. It must have been programed to do that though.”

“Perhaps,” Ganondorf muttered, helping Zelda to sheath his swords.

He didn’t know anything about Sheikah technology and what it could or couldn’t do.

Zelda helped Ganondorf to his feet and allowed him to lean on her as they made their way to the exit which was now open.

“How long do you think we’ve been gone?” Zelda asked as they came out to the main part of the maze. Zelda couldn’t hear the large Guardian stomping around and wondered where it had gone to.

Ganondorf glanced up at the sky to see that the sun had passed its zenith, indicating it was afternoon. “Maybe a few hours.”

“Maybe Link will be back by now?”

“With food, hopefully.”

Zelda gave a slight chuckle. “Only you would be hungry after a near death experience.”

“Hey, Link probably would be too.”

Zelda couldn’t dispute that. Link was something else though.

They paused at the entrance to the maze, looking up to the cliff they had glided from. Surely the glider couldn’t return them to that spot. If they jumped off it would mean a bit of climbing and Ganondorf was in no shape to climb.

“How do we get back?” Zelda muttered, realizing they hadn’t thought about the return trip.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So now they have only one temple to do and that's the end of their journey? Right? RIGHT?  
> Not even close xD If I don't add any new chapters or anything the beginning of Arc 2 should begin around...chapter 44. So 9 more chapters before a new adventure (:


	36. Arc 1: The Master Trials

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was going to get this up tomorrow but decided tonight so I could play Animal Crossing all day tomorrow xD  
> Enjoy!

Ganondorf sighed as Mipha continued to run her hands along his back which had been scraped up by the Guardian’s attack.

It had taken a bit for Ganondorf and Zelda to figure out that the glider had a small button on it, allowing two jets to propel them upwards against the wind. Even though he wasn’t in the best of shape, Ganondorf held onto the glider with Zelda on his back. The group had been waiting for them at Robbie’s lab and before Mipha could heal Ganondorf, they decided to go down to the nearby stable to get food in everyone and have a place to rest for the night.

“So, all that was there was a circlet?” Bazz asked, spotting the piece on Ganondorf’s forehead.

“And a ton of Guardians,” Ganondorf added.

** Guardians?  ** Link asked, tilting his head as he focused on creating a hearty poultry pilaf. **The ones from the Silent Realm?**

“What?” Ganondorf mumbled. “No. The…” He made a gesture before looking at Zelda. “Zelda?”

“Ganondorf named them _apparently_ forgetting there were already monsters called Guardians,” Zelda said, taking a stick to draw a Guardian.

“That looks like one of those things from the Forgotten Temple,” Sidon said. “There were a lot of them in that maze?”

“And ones with legs,” Zelda added. “We assume they were placed there to guard the diadem.”

“Must be an important piece,” Mipha murmured, raising her hands as she stepped back. “All done.”

Ganondorf pushed himself up and stretched his arms above his head, no longer feeling the pull of his injuries. “Thanks.”

As Ganondorf gathered his shirt and jacket, Zelda looked back at the maze. She was still curious about it and the Guardians. The Zonai obviously know about the prophecy, but she wasn’t sure why or how.

“You’re thinking too loud,” Ganondorf murmured, dropping a hand on Zelda’s head. “Stop worrying so much. It’s nothing for us to know.”

Zelda hummed before she nodded. “I suppose you’re right. nothing to lose sleep over.”

“Exactly.”

Everyone settled down as Link began to put the finished food into some plates.

“Ya ha!” Astrid cheered, appearing on Ganondorf’s shoulder. “I’m back!”

“Do you know where the last temple is?” Zelda asked as Ganondorf plucked the Korok from his shoulder and set her in his lap.

Astrid nodded eagerly as she stuck a stubby hand in Ganondorf’s rice.

“Where is it?” Sidon asked. “Nearby?”

Astrid pointed a free hand at Death Mountain.

Everyone stared at the enormous mountain that dominated the landscape, hot red lava running down its sides.

“We won’t survive in that heat,” Bazz said. “We won’t be able to follow you there.”

“The entrance to the mountain is cool,” Zelda explained. “And I believe there is a stable there.”

At Zelda’s look, Ganondorf stood up to grab the map from the bag hanging from Helltrotter’s side.

“What about you three?” Sidon asked. “The heat is even too much for Hylians, I’ve heard.”

** Fireproof elixirs should help,  ** Link said. **But we’ll need a lot to even make it to Goron City.**

Ganondorf sat back in his spot, spreading out the map in the grass. “Looks like there is a stable at the entrance to the mountain. If we ask, surely someone will be willing to sell us an elixir or six.”

Zelda nodded. “I hope so. The heat is hot enough to burn wood without flint.”

Ganondorf traced a path from their location at Akkala stable to Foothill stable, calculating how long it would take for them to reach the mountain’s entrance. “Maybe…two days? We can stop at South Akkala stable to rest then continue in the morning to Foothill stable.”

“Hopefully the stable has the supplies you need,” Bazz murmured. “Going to the city of the Goron without protection is suicidal.”

“We’ll have no choice, either way,” Ganondorf grunted. “We need to ask them if they know of any temples.”

Sidon didn’t appear convinced. While the Zora and Goron had an accord to meet at a specific spot for trade, Hylians and Goron didn’t do that. They traded, but only in Castle Town.

Death Mountain and Goron City were not places that many could thrive without specific armor or elixirs.

Link shrugged. **It will be fine. Maybe the temple is in a cooler part of Death Mountain.**

“I hope the temple itself will be cool,” Zelda sighed.

Gerudo Desert’s heat had been horrible and the heat from Death Mountain was ten times worse. Only Lizalfos and fire Chuchu and Keese lived in the heat along with some native lizards, bugs and birds.

“Maybe we’ll find the temple before we even hit Goron City,” Ganondorf said. “Then we wouldn’t need to go there to ask if they’ve even heard of a temple.”

Of course, none of them knew what they were going to run into and they hoped the journey would be a simple one.

* * *

The group spent the night at the stable to rest and recover. After breakfast the next morning, they left and made their way back towards Akkala Citadel to reach the road that would lead to the entrance to Death Mountain. The horses that had been captured by the monsters gathered in the grassy fields of East Akkala, grazing peacefully. They didn’t startle at the sight of the group, watching them from a distance.

“You think they remember us?” Zelda asked, surprised the wild horses hadn’t left.

** Horses have good memory,  ** Link said, patting Epona’s neck. **They know.**

Ganondorf gave an agreeing grunt. “Even so, I doubt they’ll allow us to come any closer.”

Off in the distance to the left, birds flew up into the air. At the sight, the wild horse lifted their heads, ears flicked forward. They bolted.

“What could have startled them? Mipha wondered, disappointed the horses had left so soon.

Thundering footsteps approached the group and they turned to see a Stalnox lumbering up the hill that sloped down towards the bay.

A royal claymore, traveler’s sword and sparking thunderblade were stuck in the creature’s skull like a mock crown. A threaded rope necklace hung around its shoulders with a knight bow, traveler’s bow and royal guard bow tied to the end.

“Question,” Sidon said as he and the others continued to stare at the Stalnox.

“Yes?” Zelda asked, not taking her eyes off the Stalnox.

“Correct me if I’m wrong but I thought Stalmonsters only came out at night.”

“You would be correct,” Bazz said. “They can’t stand the sunlight.”

“So how is this Stalnox wandering around in broad daylight?” Mipha asked.

Ganondorf had noticed the Stalnox’s eye the second it had come into view. Unlike Stalnox that had pure black eyes with a green pupil, this Stalnox had a black sclera with a bright orange iris and slit pupil.

“Malice,” Ganondorf growled, taking out a sword as Helltrotter snorted, eager for another battle.

Was this the Malice’s last-ditch effort to stop them? Zelda wondered. If it was, the Malice had another thing coming.

Ganondorf lead the charge at the Stalnox which roared at them.

Zelda and Link split off to either side, both aiming their bows as they tried to get a good angle at the Stalnox’s eye.

The Stalnox raised its arm above its head and Ganondorf yanked on Helltrotter’s reins to rear the horse up, the closed fist slamming into the ground inches away from where he was.

From behind Ganondorf, Bazz leapt up and over him, landing on the Stalnox’s radius bone to race up it, trying to get as close to the eye as possible.

With its other hand, the Stalnox swatted the Zora off before it turned with a snarl when a sword pierced its kneecap.

Ganondorf grinned as he looped around the Stalnox, withdrawing his second sword.

An arrow bounced off the side of the Stalnox’s socket and it turned its attention to Link who quickly spurred Epona into a canter to avoid the open palm smashing to the ground.

Sidon took the advantage to hop on the arm, spinning his spear as he made a beeline for the eye. He jumped over the hand trying to smack him and the second the eye looked in his direction, he threw his spear at it like a javelin.

The spear embedded itself deep into the Stalnox’s eye and it shrieked, clutching its eye and stumbling. Trying to paw the offending weapon out of its eye only resulted in pulling the eye out of the socket. The eye dropped to the ground, weighed down by Sidon’s spear.

With an easier target, Zelda took aim with a Light Arrow then let it fly.

The magic arrow sunk into the eye and the Stalnox screeched in response. For a second the eye appeared like it would return to its host, the way it pulsed, then it exploded. The bones of the Stalnox turned black before crumbling into dust. The weapons that had been stuck in the Stalnox fell to the ground.

Zelda took a breath as Sidon and Ganondorf went to grab their fallen weapons. Mipha was busy fussing over Bazz while Link was studying the knight bow.

She was glad the fight hadn’t been too long. They had come across the Stalnox at the right time. If they hadn’t, she was sure the monster would have terrorized travelers and wreaked havoc.

Sidon appeared interested in the royal guard bow, testing it in relation to his Lynel bow. In the end, it was obvious the Zora liked the Lynel bow for its power and magic ability to split one arrow into three.

“Everyone all right?” Ganondorf asked as he looked at the others.

Link nodded, taking the knight bow in favor of the traveler’s bow.

“We’re all fine,” Zelda said. “That could have been a lot worse.”

“We’re fine as well,” Bazz said as he and Mipha joined the group. “Nothing too bad.”

“We should keep moving then,” Ganondorf suggested. “Try to reach South Akkala stable as soon as we can to make up for lost time.”

As everyone continued to walk, Zelda glanced back at where they had fought the Stalnox before looking at Ganondorf. “Do you think when the blood moon revives it, the Malice will no longer had a hold of it?”

“Nothing is certain,” Ganondorf murmured. “It could be free of the Malice’s corruption or it could stall be under its control. We won’t know.”

Zelda nodded. Ganondorf was right. it wasn’t like they could take the time to be sure that the Stalnox was back to whatever state it had been in before the Malice had taken it over.

A few hours later as the sun was beginning to sink lower, signaling evening approaching Hyrule, the group arrived at South Akkala stable.

Sidon helped Link make dinner for the group while Ganondorf got the horses settled in for the night.

The night was uneventful, the group eating dinner before turning in to sleep. The next morning as the sun was beginning to rise, they woke up and resumed their trek to the base of Death Mountain.

The area around Foothill Stable was rocky with patches of grass. Despite not being close enough to Death Mountain to be stifling, the heat was still warmer than the rest of Akkala. A lake lay nearby, offering cooling for the Zora as well as food.

“If it’s warm here, I don’t want to know what the mountain itself is like,” Zelda mumbled, hopping down from Bluebell’s saddle.

“You’ll feel like you’re melting,” Ganondorf said, grinning at Zelda. “I can make it even hotter if you want me to.”

Zelda swatted his arm. “Stop that.”

“Your loss.”

Link glanced around before going up to a ranch hand to ask about some fireproof elixirs.

There was a faint grumbling before a voice rumbled **_Can you hear me, Chosen Ones?_**

Zelda, Ganondorf, and Link all paused at the voice infiltrating their minds.

**_ Ah, you can. Good. _ **

“Is that the Deku Tree?” Zelda asked.

“Sounds like it,” Ganondorf muttered.

**_ I apologize for this, but can you three come to the Korok Forest? There is something important that I need to discuss with you three. _ **

“What is it?” Ganondorf asked. “Better not be a waste of a trip.”

**_Of course not. It will be a test to strengthen yourselves. I will explain more once you arrive._ **

Link looked at Ganondorf and Zelda. **What should we do?**

“We should go,” Zelda said. “It must be extremely important for him to contact us via telepathy.”

“What about the Zora?” Ganondorf muttered, looking towards the Zora playing in the nearby lake.

They obviously hadn’t heard the communication, obliviously splashing in the clear blue water.

Ganondorf grunted. “We should tell them. Then they can decide if they want to take a trip to the Korok Forest or remain here.

** Seems fair,  ** Link agreed with a nod. **I’ll get them.**

As he trotted to the lake, Ganondorf looked at Zelda. “What sort of test do you think it is?”

Zelda shook her head. “I’m not sure. Something that requires all three of us, apparently.”

“I’m getting tired of all these tests.”

“That’s sort of what you signed up for, being a good guy,” Zelda teased, lightly punching Ganondorf’s arm.

Ganondorf gave a mock wince like her punch hurt, rubbing his arm as he scowled. He just as quickly smirked though, grabbing Zelda around the waist, lifting her off the ground and swinging her around. “I can still turn bad, princess.”

“Oh, put me down, you idiot!” Zelda said between giggles, smacking Ganondorf’s arm. “That’s quite enough silliness.”

Ganondorf set her down but kept an arm around her waist as he leaned down to press a kiss to her neck.

Zelda turned her head just as Ganondorf pressed their foreheads together. She closed her eyes, feeling the cool gem against her skin, then opened them to see Ganondorf staring at her.

“I regret none of this, Zelda. None of what we’re doing or what we did or what we’re going to do. So long as you remain by my side, I will be happy.”

“Who knew the King of Darkness was such a sap?”

“You wound me,” Ganondorf murmured, looking wounded despite his grin.

There was a cough behind them and Zelda quickly separated herself from Ganondorf who gave an annoyed growl. Link appeared amused at having caught the two so close together, raising his hands to sign **They’ll stay here and gather information about Death Mountain as well as some fireproof elixirs.**

“That saves them a trip, then,” Ganondorf said, glancing at Zelda to see her staring at the ground in an effort to hide her blush. “We should get going then. Try to reach Korok Forest before nightfall.”

Zelda made a noise of agreement while Link nodded.

* * *

With the Zora settled at Foothill Stable, the trio left and made their way towards the Lost Woods. With the horses maintaining a constant speed, they arrived in record time, the sun just beginning to set as they entered the Korok Woods.

Several Korok hid at their arrival while Astrid appeared and bounded off to go greet some of the hidden Korok.

“I’m glad you could make it so quickly,” the Deku Tree murmured as the three approached him. “This is quite unprecedented and while we had trials set for the Hero alone…”

“What sort of trials?” Ganondorf asked. “Why do we all need to be here if it’s for Link alone?”

“As I said, they were for the Hero, but with all of you traveling together, we adjusted the trials to account for you and princess Zelda.”

“Who is we?” Zelda asked, tilting her head. “You and the Korok?”

The limbs on the Deku Tree twisted as if he were shaking his head. “No. The Sages. The trials were laid out for the wielder of the Master Sword to strengthen the bond between master and blade. However, with the three of you traveling together, after much discussion, the Sages and I have adjusted the trials to fit you three.”

** What do we have to do?  ** Link asked, appearing interested with the concept of the trials.

“The trials are to temper and strengthen your mind, body, and spirit. You yourselves will not only come out of it stronger, but so will your weapons. Each trial is melded to you separately, so you will each participate in individual trials, one not the same as the other trials that your friends face. You can, of course, refuse the trials if you do not feel ready for them.”

The pedestal where the Master Sword had been discovered glowed before a podium on either side lifted up from the ground. One was indented with a sword shape while the other looked similar to a bow.

“However, should you accept the trials laid out before you, you merely need to place your weapons in the pedestals to be transported to the realm of spirits.”

Ganondorf glanced at Zelda and Link. When they caught his eyes, they nodded seriously. Ganondorf grinned at their determination.

The Deku Tree hummed when the three looked back at him. “I see you have made your decision, then. I wish you luck in your endeavors, young ones.”

While Link slid the Master Sword back into its pedestal, Ganondorf withdrew both his swords and set them in the pedestal to the right while Zelda used the other pedestal to place the Light Bow into. Once all the weapons were in their place, they glowed a bright blue. The light from the weapons enveloped their owners until they vanished from sight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I decided I didn't put enough sappy Zelgan so have some sappy Zelgan. Also the next three chapters will cover the trials and I am just sitting here like *rubbing greedy raccoon hands together*


	37. Arc 1: Trial of the Body

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> These next three chapters are gonna be boring in my opinion xD And they're probably going to be shorter. This one reached just slightly over 2700 which I normally aim for 3k but that's all right. These are just filler chapters anyway.  
> Enjoy or don't. I'm jaded with this anyway since I've lost nearly all my reviewers. I'll keep writing until the end of Arc 1 though then see what I'm going to do.

The rain continued to lash at the boat’s feeble mast, wind pushing against the thin cloth that was the sail. The boat rocked violently in the choppy waves.

Link continued to pull on the rope attached to the mast to keep it steady and into the wind. He didn’t know how he had gotten into this situation at all. He had put the Master Sword back into its pedestal like the Deku Tree had instructed then the next thing he knew he was thrown on this tiny boat trying not to overturn in a wild storm.

A voice had told him over the roaring rain that he had to endure and find what was precious to him to pass the trial.

But what was precious to him? He had a lot of things precious to him.

A flash of lighting lit up the dark sea and Link spotted another boat ahead of him. Two people were in it, both struggling to keep their boat from capsizing as well. The red hair of one of the people was hard to miss.

It made sense of course. His friendship with Ganondorf and Zelda was extremely important to him.

They hadn’t seemed to notice him and he couldn’t exactly call out to them. So, he focused on keeping his boat upright and tried to catch up to them.

The storm wasn’t making it easy and Link wondered why it felt familiar to him. He had done this before, but he couldn’t remember exactly why.

Link shook his head and tightened his grip on the rope. He had to shake off the nostalgia and focus on reaching Zelda and Ganondorf. He had to get to them before their boat overturned.

The violent waves would quickly extinguish any chance for them to swim long enough for him to reach them.

Pulling on the rope harder Link tried to get the sail back to a good position to face the wind. Water splashed up into the boat, making the floor slippery.

Another bolt of lightning struck the water a bit too close to Link, causing him to flinch.

When he looked back in front of him, Link couldn’t see the darker spot on the sea that was Ganondorf and Zelda’s boat. He looked around trying to see if had gone of course somehow, but still couldn’t see anything over the roiling waves and thick rain.

Link glanced behind him to check if he had perhaps gone pat their boat but saw nothing.

Had their boat sunk? If it had he didn’t have a chance of saving them. Had he failed the trial? He supposed he hadn’t if he was still on the boat. But where were Zelda and Ganondorf?

A bolt of lightning struck the top of the mast, the force of the strike sending Link sprawling on his back. His head hit the edge of the boat, stunning him and drinking his vision. Through the blur he could see the flames engulfing the mast.

* * *

The sun felt warm on his skin and the sand beneath his cheek was scratchy. Link grunted as he slowly came to, pushing himself up then flopping back into a sitting position. He looked around, seeing that he was on some sort of beach of an island.

He had to admit these trials were elaborate in their settings.

Brushing the sand off his cheek and stiff clothes, Link glanced around for any sign that the island wasn’t uninhabited.

Two faint sets of footprints lead from the sand to the forest in the distance.

Link followed the footprints, wondering if they were Zelda and Ganondorf’s which meant they had also washed ashore on the island.

As he went deeper into the forest, Link too his time as he searched for any indication to which direction his friends had gone.

Some places in the forest were muddy and he could see a stray footprint pressed into the damp ground, but it led him in circles. After a second try of not leading himself in a wild goose chase, Link paused to figure out a logical course of action.

If he were stuck on an island searching for his friends, he’d have an easier time of spotting them from higher ground.

Glanced around, Link spotted a hill overlooking the forest.

_ That will work,  _ he decided, heading over to the hill. He climbed to the top and began to look around for any sign of his friends.

Ganondorf’s red hair wasn’t hard to spot and he saw the redhead and Zelda close to the east side of the island.

Racing down the hill, Link took off running in the direction he had seen them, trying not to lose track of them. He was still aching from the tumultuous boat ride his body protesting against the abuse so quickly, but Link ignored it. He wanted to reach Zelda and Ganondorf.

Sitting in front of a small campfire were his two friends and Link grinned when he saw them.

They glanced at him when they caught sight of him and smiled as well. Instead of greeting him, the two faded in a mist of pale blue petals, the background fading with them until Link stood in a dark chamber with a set of stairs leading upward.

**_ Congratulations, young one, on your victory over the test of endurance laid out before you. Now, climb the stairs and pull the Master Sword from its pedestal to be transported to the next trial. _ **

Link sighed, his shoulders slumping. Right, he had forgotten this was a trial.

Slowly climbing the steps, Link wondered what the next trial was and whether Zelda and Ganondorf had completed their trials yet.

* * *

The trees kept jumping in front of her as if to hinder her in her escape.

Zelda didn’t like this trial at all. She had been thrust into an unfamiliar forest with enormous trees and told to search for whatever was important to her. She didn’t understand what was important to her. Everything was important to her. Link, Ganondorf, Hyrule, her father.

What had the trial chosen for her precious thing?

As if making matters worse, an enormous beast roamed the woods. It was porcine in appearance with two foot curved tusks jutting from its mouth and burning red eyes.

In all honesty, the beast reminded her of Ganon and she wasn’t sure if she was overthinking it or if this had something to do with the trial as well.

Did the beast have something to do with her precious thing?

Zelda couldn’t think about it now, too busy focusing on trying to escape the beast’s sights.

Jumping to the side, Zelda hid behind a rocky outcropping, pressing her back against it as the beast thundered past. Once it had gone, Zelda sighed and relaxed slightly, sliding to the ground.

“This is terrifying,” Zelda mumbled to herself. “How do I even beat this?”

She was certain she had to beat the beast to reveal whatever the trial had taken from her, but she also knew the meaning of it. The beast represented Ganon. The sages were reminding her of her duty: Destroy Ganon.

“I hate my duty,” Zelda muttered vehemently. “I’m not going to do something I don’t want to do.”

She wasn’t going to kill Ganondorf for just _existing_. He was kind and understanding but the cycle was desperate to make them set it back into motion.

_ I won’t do it,  _ Zelda decided stubbornly, shaking her head. _There has to be another way._

There was always another way. She didn’t have to kill the beast in order to get what she needed, right? Was it possible to try compassion?

Even if the beast ran her over or trampled her, it wasn’t her body in the realm, just her spirit, right? At the most she would just have to start the trial over with a new strategy.

Then again, she still had to figure out what the trial wanted her to find.

Peering out from behind the tree, Zelda cautiously walked out and made her way through the forest. She searched for any indication of what she was supposed to find, but all she saw was the hoofprints of the boar beast.

After what felt like hours or walking, Zelda stopped with a sigh, shaking her head. “What exactly am I supposed to find?”

There was something precious to her here but she wasn’t sure what. She didn’t see any signs of the people she cared for so perhaps it wasn’t a person.

_ It’s definitely not that beast,  _ Zelda thought wryly, tossing a branch into the distance.

She wished the trial could be a little more specific on what was precious to her. She knew though that the sages sure did enjoy their riddles.

Zelda sat by a tree with a huff to get her bearings and think about what else was precious to her. Her wits were. The wisdom bestowed upon herself and her ancestors defined her.

“My wisdom,” Zelda muttered, glancing at her hand.

No glow lit up, no sign she had the Triforce in her possession.

Zelda smacked her forehead.

Of course. She should have figured out sooner that it was her piece of the Triforce that was precious to her. Where was it hiding though? She couldn’t really sense it and assumed it was hidden well or suppressed.

With a sigh, Zelda stood up to begin her search again, now for where the wisdom piece of the Triforce was hiding.

As she took a step out, a snort caught her attention and she turned to see the boar beast standing several feet away.

It shook its head and pawed the ground before rushing at Zelda.

Out of instinct, Zelda summoned the Light Bow, drawing back an arrow to defend herself. She aimed at the charging beast before sighing, lowering her bow.

There had to be an alternative to killing it.

Dismissing the Light Bow, Zelda drew herself to her full height, holding out a hand towards the beast.

Even if it didn’t stop, she would simply have to start the trial over with a new plan of attack. She hoped it stopped.

As it drew closer, Zelda closed her eyes, waiting for the boar to bowl into her. When nothing happened, Zelda cautiously opened her eyes, looking ahead of her to see that the boar had stopped.

Its nose snuffled her hand almost curiously.

With a breathless gasp, Zelda dropped her hand to her side, relieved her idea had worked. Carefully moving closer to the now peaceful boar, Zelda ran a hand through its stiff fur.

“Hello. Do you know where the Triforce piece is hiding?”

The boar snorted, staring at her with eyes that were too human, before it turned and walked off, nose pressed to the ground.

Zelda followed the boar, not sure if had indeed understood her.

At the base of a tree, the boar began nosing into the ground, sharp tusks digging into the earth easily. It nudged something out of the hole it made and Zelda was surprised to see that it was a piece of the Triforce.

She put her hand close to it and the piece floated up, twirling in place.

It moved towards her and sank into the back of her hand where the mark of the Triforce lit up.

Zelda grinned at the sight of the Triforce, looking up to thank the boar for its help. She found herself standing alone in a blank space with stairs in front of her.

**_ Congratulations, young one, on your victory over the test of endurance. Climb the stairs and retrieve the Light Bow from its pedestal to be transported to the next trial. _ **

Zelda sighed, dropping her hand as she began to ascend the stairs. She wondered how the others were doing.

* * *

Ganondorf grumbled to himself as he continued to trudge forward against the winds, arms crossed over his chest in an attempt to keep himself warm.

A blizzard. Of course, it had be a trial with a blizzard.

The wind howled around him and the snow that was stirred up by the wind bit his face. He hadn’t gotten very far and he already hated the trial. How was he supposed to find whatever was precious to him in this type of weather?

Shuddering, Ganondorf gripped himself tighter, trying to maintain some form of body heat retention.

He couldn’t even see anything over all the hazy white. What was he even looking for? What was precious to him?

_ It better not be a throne,  _ Ganondorf thought to himself with a grumble. He wasn’t in the mood for sick jokes.

Zelda was definitely precious to him as was his friendship with Link. Perhaps he was trying to find them in the blizzard?

He had to keep walking either way to keep warm. Maybe he would eventually bump into someone. At least he hoped so. He wondered if he could find a cave in this weather or if the trial didn’t think about it. Did the trial think? Whoever had created it certainly did and the Deku Tree had said something about the sages.

Knowing the sages, they were going to make the trial a living hell for him in retaliation for everything his ancestors had done.

No wonder he had to deal with a blizzard.

Ganondorf squinted against the haze of snow, glancing around in the hope he could spot something that indicated a person or a shelter. He couldn’t make out anything so far and wondered how long he would have to walk to reach whatever he needed.

A cave suddenly jumped out in front of him as if in answer to his question and without thinking about, Ganondorf entered the cave.

It was warm and dry, out of the blizzard’s reach.

Ganondorf shook himself off with a shudder, brushing snowflakes out of his hair.

The next stage of the trial was traversing the cave to find whatever was precious to him obviously.

Slowly, Ganondorf walked forward, summoning a small flame to his hand so he could see. “Zelda! Link! You guys in here?”

Even if they were in there, could they talk back or were they fake, created by the trial itself?

Either way, Ganondorf had to complete the trial to move on so he would do whatever he could.

Something caught his eye and Ganondorf paused to see some drawings on the cave wall. They were old and he didn’t recognize the style. He could make out a man atop a horse wielding a spear. It was easy to see himself from the Time Era.

Ganondorf moved down to see more drawings of himself from the past, all geared for destruction. He paused at the last drawing, seeing that it appeared more recent and was unusual.

He saw what could only be himself but split in half. One half appeared benevolent, hand open with no weapon or malicious intent. The other half wielded one of his swords, raised in attack position, grinning evilly.

Ganondorf set his hand on the benevolent half of the drawing, slowly dragging his hand down. He didn’t understand the drawing but assumed it meant he was torn between good and evil, but Ganondorf wasn’t. He didn’t want to be evil or destroy Hyrule. He wanted to be with his friends. He wanted to be with Zelda.

Stepping back, Ganondorf continued to walk, searching for any sign that someone else was in the cave.

A noise caught his attention and he turned quickly, ready to fight.

Stepping out from the shadows was Zelda.

Ganondorf smiled at the sight of Zelda, his spirits raising. “Zelda, there you are.”

Around her forehead was his diadem and Ganondorf recached up to touch his forehead, realizing he lacked the diadem. He hadn’t noticed it before now.

Without a word, Zelda pulled the diadem off and held it out to Ganondorf, smiling.

Ganondorf took the diadem.

When it left her hands, Zelda faded in a speckle of blue lights, the background disappearing shortly afterwards. The blank space was replaced by a staircase leading up.

**_ Congratulations, young one, on your victory of the trial of endurance. Ascend the stairs and draw your blades from the pedestal to be transported to the next trial. _ **

Ganondorf glanced down at the diadem in his hands before setting it on his head. Then he climbed the stairs, grabbing the handle of his sword.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah there. Next one is Mind. So that should be fun I guess.


	38. Arc 1: Trial of the Mind

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This took forever because it was so hard to write. It's boring and longwinded and stupid. So don't worry about it. The next chapter is the last trial and then back to the regularly scheduled program.

Ganondorf squinted when a bright flash of light blinded him. When it faded, he blinked then glanced around. Beside him stood a red bird with the Triforce floating above its head. The bird was large with a strong beak. It looked familiar and something told him he had seen it before.

 _A Loftwing,_ his mind supplied. _It’s a Loftwing._

On either side of the Loftwing and him where two fire Wizzrobe and on either side of them were Stalhorses. Next to the Stalhorses stood fire Chuchu and in a row in front of Ganondorf were eight red Bokoblin wielding different weapons.

As he looked around, Ganondorf noticed the checkerboard pattern floor beneath him. Across from him stood a row of golden Bokoblin with the same pattern of Stalhorses, thunder Wizzrobe, lightning Chuchu, a Loftwing with golden feathers and the Triforce hovering above its head, and a sparking black symbol that Ganondorf recognized as Demise’s symbol.

The checkerboard and the position of the pieces told Ganondorf that he was a chess board.

“Chess?” he mumbled, frowning as he glanced at the pieces again.

The next trial was a chess match?

Ganondorf had played chess once before in a previous life, but it had been different than the Gerudo variant and he hadn’t liked it at all. Hylians had so many rules for it and pieces could only move in certain set positions.

“So, you’re the new Ganondorf, eh? Well, you’re a lot more handsome than the one that I knew.”

Ganondorf looked towards the voice and blinked at who he saw sitting in the saddle of one of the Stalhorses.

She hadn’t aged at all. Then again, she was a sage and possibly a spirit.

“Nabooru?” Ganondorf asked uncertainly.

Why did he have her as his opponent? Was there a reasoning behind it?

Nabooru smiled, leaning on the Stalhorse’s head. “Am I really so beautiful that you have no words left, oh King of the Gerudo?”

Ganondorf spluttered, appearing at a loss for words at being flirted with and Nabooru laughed.

“Easy, big boy. I already know you’re taken. You’re just so easy to tease.”

Ganondorf frowned, trying to look annoyed that Nabooru was teasing him. Then he shook his head, deciding not to say anything to defend himself. “So, this is the next trial: a game of chess?”

“Trial of the mind: use your wits. What better use of wisdom than a game of wits?”

Ganondorf sighed. Made sense. He still wasn’t happy about the choice of game though. “All right. Who goes first then?”

“Why don’t you go?” Nabooru asked with a smirk. “I’d like to see how smart you are.”

Ganondorf scowled at the slight before he glanced at his pieces, looking for a good opening move. “All right….let’s see….pawn to E5.”

The Bokoblin squealed and moved forward two spaces, bouncing eagerly.

Nabooru snorted. “How about we face off? Pawn to E4.”

The Bokoblin on her side moved forward and the two Bokoblin growled at each other.

“Knight to C6.”

The Stalhorse leaped over one of the Bokoblin to get to the space Ganondorf ordered.

“Knight to F3.”

Nabooru’s Stalhorse moved to the F3 space.

Nabooru was countering his moves with the same pieces. So that was how she was going to play, huh?

“Knight to F6.”

Nabooru grinned at Ganondorf. “Knight to C3.”

“Bishop to D6.”

“Bishop to B5.”

Ganondorf grumbled, not understanding what Nabooru was playing at with using the same pieces he was. “Pawn, A6.”

“Pawn D3.”

“Bishop C5.”

The Wizzrobe now faced off against Nabooru’s Stalhorse, giggling to itself as it waved its wand, waiting for a chance to attack.

Instead of moving her knight back to relative safety, Nabooru said, “Bishop, back to C4.”

“Running away now are we, Nabooru?”

“It’s called strategy. You should try it sometime.”

Ganondorf snorted. “Knight to G5.”

“Rook, F1.”

“Knight, move back to F6.”

“Now who’s running away?” Nabooru asked playfully. “King to G1.”

“It’s called strategy,” Ganondorf snarked. “Pawn, D6.”

“Pawn, H3.”

“Knight, A5.”

“Bishop to G5.”

“Should have moved your bishop,” Ganondorf said. “Knight, C4 and take down that bishop.”

The Stalhorse rushed to the Wizzrobe, kicking it with its front hooves and causing the Wizzrobe to disappear in a puff of dust. The Stalhorse snorted proudly as it took over its new spot.

“Two can play that game, my friend. Pawn, C4. Take the horse.”

Ganondorf grumbled as the Bokoblin smashed the Stalhorse with its heavy Bokoblin club. “Pawn, H6.”

“Bishop, H4.”

Nabooru was giving him an insufferable smirk.

“Pawn, G5.”

“Shouldn’t have done that, Ganny. Knight to G5.”

“And you shouldn’t have done that either,” Ganondorf remarked, after the Stalhorse stomped the Bokoblin to oblivion. “Pawn to G5. Counterattack.”

“Oh yeah? Counter, counterattack. Bishop, G5.”

Ganondorf grumbled as he lost another Bokoblin to a Wizzrobe. “Rook, G8.”

“Pawn, H4.”

“Pawn, C6.”

“King, H1.”

Ganondorf narrowed his eyes. What was she planning with her king piece? “Queen, E7.”

The Loftwing squawked as it flew over to the E7 space.

“Pawn, F4.”

“Bishop, G4.”

“Queen, E1.”

Ganondorf hummed before he decided to go hard and fast at Nabooru’s unprotected pawn. “Pawn, F4.”

Nabooru appeared to have expected the attack on her pawn. “Rook, F4.”

“Oh yeah….? Rook, G5.”

Nabooru hadn’t expected Ganondorf to switch gears and attack her bishop but she recovered with a counterattack. “Pawn, G5.”

Ganondorf pulled back on his attacks. He didn’t need to lose too many more pieces or he would be threatened, being the king piece. “Queen to E5.”

“Queen to G3.”

Noticing the pawn within nabbing distance, Ganondorf grinned. “Queen, G1.”

The Loftwing flew over to the Bokoblin and pecked it once to dispose of it.

“Nice,” Nabooru muttered. “Rook to F1.”

Ganondorf decided to move himself to C1 to get in a safer position.

“Queen, back to H2.”

“Planning something are you? Knight, H5.”

“Pawn, G3. I could say the same about you.”

Nabooru must have been feeling threatened and she should be. Ganondorf decided to go in for the killing last moves. “Knight, F4.”

Nabooru bit her lip as the Stalhorse took down her Chuchu. “Pawn, F4.”

Ganondorf smirked. He had her backed against a wall and even if she did anything, he would threaten her king. “Queen, move back to G7.”

“King, G2.”

“Bishop, E2.”

With the bishop threatening her king and her unable to move without risking a complete and utter checkmate, Nabooru sighed, holding up her hands. “Okay, you got me.”

The symbol of Demise fizzled out at Nabooru’s resignation.

Ganondorf sighed, relieved he had even managed to last as long as he did, most of his moves just from him winging it.

“Good job.” Nabooru grinned at Ganondorf. “Good luck on the last trial, boar boy.”

Ganondorf grumbled under his breath, but he smiled fondly at the Sage of Spirit.

* * *

“A chess board, huh?” Zelda murmured, glancing around at the lifelike pieces around her.

On her side of the board were blue Chuchu, Bokoblins, ice Wizzrobe, a blue Loftwing, two Stalhorses, and a symbol to her right that reminded her of Demise.

With the positioning of the pieces she could tell which monster was what rank and on the back of the Loftwing with the Triforce above it, Zelda assumed she was the Queen piece, one of the most powerful pieces in chess.

The other side of the board had the same pieces, but in different colors. Instead of two Wizzrobe there was only one. In place of the second was someone extremely familiar and Zelda gasped when she saw them.

“Impa!”

Why was the Sage of Shadow on the chess board as well? Were thye to face off in a chess match? She had never beaten the Sheikah in a chess match before. Impa could predict all her moves.

Impa smiled. “Hello, princess. It’s been too long.”

“What’s going on? Is this the next trial—a chess match?”

“To test your wits.” Impa nodded. “I do hope you have it in order to beat me.”

Zelda huffed before she smirked. “Well then if you’re so confined that you’ll win why don’t you go first?”

Impa’s mouth quirked up before she pointed ahead of her. “All right then. Pawn, move to E5.”

Zelda decided to let one of her Bokoblins face off against Impa’s Bokoblin. “Pawn, E4.”

“Knight, C6.”

“Knight, F3.”

“Bishop, C5.”

Zelda knew what Impa was trying to do and moved accordingly to defend her side of the board. “Bishop, C4.”

Impa apparently decided to temporarily back off on her planned attack. “Pawn, A6.”

“Pawn, B4.”

Grinning, Impa took advantage of the pawn’s position. “Bishop, A6.”

Zelda clenched her hands at her mistake of moving her pawn within attack range of the bishop. She tried a different strategy. “Pawn, C3.”

“Bishop, A5,” Impa said, moving herself to the A5 section.

“Pawn, D4.”

“Pawn, D4.”

Growling under her breath as Impa’s Bokoblin defeated her Bokoblin, Zelda struggled to try and think of another way to get Impa off her guard. “King, G1.”

“Pawn, D3.”

“Queen, B3.”

Zelda held onto the Loftwing’s feathers as it flew up to move to her commanded spot, startled by the movement.

Impa appeared amused at Zelda’s reaction. “Queen, F6.”

Zelda was deciding to play it safe, not moving such big pieces within attack range of Impa’s pieces. “Pawn, D5.”

“Queen, G6.”

“Rook, E1.”

"Knight, E7.”

Once again, Impa moved to a different spot. “Bishop, A3.”

“Pawn, B5.”

Was she giving Zelda an opening or was that a slipup? Either way, Zelda was going to take advantage of it. “Queen, B5.”

The Loftwing she was sitting on flew up a bit, moving to where the Bokoblin was and dropping down, landing on it to defeat it.

Impa hummed, but instead of taking advantage of other pieces on the board, she continued to move her pieces into strategic positions. “Rook, B8.”

“Queen, A4.”

“Bishop, B6.”

Seeing what Impa was trying to do, Zelda decided to block off the bishop’s area of attack. “Knight, D2.”

“Bishop, B7.”

“Oh, no you don’t,” Zelda muttered under her breath. “Knight, E4.”

Impa gave up on trying to pressure Zelda with her bishop, deciding to move a different piece. “Queen, F5.”

Zelda took advantage of the pawn left wide open by Impa’s moves. “Bishop, D3.”

Impa didn’t seem bothered by the loss of the Bokoblin. “Queen, H5.”

“Knight, F6.”

“Bad move, princess,” Impa called. “Pawn, F6.”

Zelda smiled. “Bad move yourself. Pawn, F6.”

Zelda’s Bokoblin destroyed Impa’s Bokoblin shortly after it had destroyed the Stalhorse standing on the space.

“Rook, G8.”

“Rook, D1.”

“Left yourself open,” Impa said. “Queen, F3.”

“You mean you left yourself open,” Zelda countered as the Loftwing destroyed the Stalhorse. “Rook, E7. And I do believe that’s a check.”

Impa smiled. “Knight, E7.”

With the rook out of the way, Zelda decided to take advantage of Impa’s leftover pawns. “Queen, D7.”

“You’re about to lose your mount, princess. King, D7.”

The symbol of Demise moved in front of Zelda’s Loftwing, releasing a shower of sparks and causing the Loftwing to screech.

Zelda stumbled as her mount disappeared and she moved away from the king piece as it took the spot she had just been on.

Nothing told her that even with the loss of the Loftwing, the game was over so Zelda decided to continue pressuring Impa. “Bishop, F5. Check.”

“King, E8.”

Zelda understood what Impa was doing. She was keeping pressure off her king by moving it out of range of the bishop’s attack but Zelda was having none of it. “Bishop, D7.”

“King F8.”

“Bishop, E7.” Zelda grinned triumphantly, crossing her arms. “Checkmate.”

After the Wizzrobe had destroyed the Stalhorse, it left Impa’s king in checkmate, ending the game. Impa hummed at the outcome before slowly clapping.

“Well done, princess. You’ve become quite excellent at strategy which is good because you’ll need it when you ascend the throne.”

“I’m not ascending the throne yet, Impa.”

Impa merely smiled, head tilted slightly like she knew something Zelda didn’t. “I wish you luck in your endeavors, princess.”

* * *

 _Chess?_ Link wondered, scowling at the pieces surrounding him.

He had never played chess. Too many pieces and too many ways the pieces could move.

In a row in front of him were black Bokoblins. Then in staggering order were lightning Chuchus and Wizzrobes and Stalhorses. Link sat in one of the Stalhorse’s saddles, the monster snorting and eyeing him.

In the middle of the line of monsters was a strange symbol Link didn’t recognize, black and red and pulsing with inner life. Beside the symbol stood a dark-colored Loftwing, crest smoothed up in an arc. Above its head was the Triforce.

Across the way on the other side of the board was another set of pieces. The Bokoblin were silver while the Chuchu and Wizzrobe were blizzard ranks. The Stalhorses and demonic symbol were the same while a green Loftwing with the Triforce above its head stood beside the symbol.

Link didn’t see anyone on that side of the board but the next time he looked he saw a Korok perched on the Loftwing’s head.

 **Astrid?** Link asked in surprise.

Why was the Korok in the trial with him? Wasn’t it a trial set for him, Ganondorf, and Zelda only?

Astrid giggled at Link’s confusion before twirling. A small flash of light emanated from the Korok and once it faded a girl with short green hair sat in the Korok’s place.

“Really, fairy boy, you act like we’ve never met.”

Link gaped at her.

Astrid was Saria? Or was Saria Astrid?

“Don’t fry your brain trying to figure it out,” Saria said, leaning back slightly. “You want to move on to the final trial, yeah? Then you’ll have to beat me in a chess match first.”

 **But I’ve never played chess before!** Link complained. **It won’t be fair!**

“Don’t worry. You’ll know what to do.” Saria smiled. “You trust me, right?”

Link sighed, his shoulders slumping. He nodded.

“Then you make the opening move, fairy boy.”

Link huffed but took up the challenge. **Pawn, E4.**

“Pawn, C5.”

**Knight, F3.**

To get to the spot, the Stalhorse had to leap over the Bokoblin in the way and with no sign of reins, Link just held onto the Stalhorse’s neck instead.

Saria gave a slight chuckle at that. “Pawn, E6.”

**Pawn, D3.**

“Knight, C6.”

**Pawn, G3.**

“Pawn, G6.”

**Bishop, G2.**

“Bishop, G7.”

Link knew Saria was trying to put pressure on him, especially since he was a novice. He was trying his best but was just guessing at the best spots to move his pieces. **King, G1.**

“Knight, E7.”

**Rook, E1.**

“Pawn, D6.”

**Pawn, C3.**

“King, G8.”

**Pawn, D4.**

Link didn’t like the smile Saria gave after his move and he knew he had made a bad move.

“Pawn, D4.”

She captured his pawn but couldn’t he do the same? That was the point of the game, right? Taking as many pieces as possible?

**Pawn, D4.**

Saria didn’t take advantage of Link’s pawn again, moving in a different direction. “Pawn, D5.”

**Pawn, E5.**

“Bishop, D7.”

**Knight, C3.**

“Rook, C8.”

**Bishop, F4.**

“Knight, A5.”

**Rook, C1.**

“Pawn, B5.”

**Pawn, B3.**

Saria decided to challenge Link to see if he would take the bait. “Pawn B4.”

Link knew what she was doing and decided to try a different tactic. **Knight, E2.**

“Bishop, B5.”

**Queen, D2.**

“Knight, C6.”

**Pawn, G4.**

“Pawn, A5.”

**Knight, G3.**

Saria could see Link was trying to come up with a possible strategy of cornering her king and preventing her pieces from moving in retaliation. She decided to try and defend herself. “Queen, B6.”

**Pawn, H4.**

“Knight, B8.”

**Bishop, H6.**

“Knight, D7.”

**Queen, G5.**

Saria smiled and Link realized her rook was within range of his. “Rook, C1.”

Two could play at that game. **Rook, C1.**

With Link focused on taking the rook, Saria switched plans. “Bishop, H6.”

Link scowled as his Wizzrobe was defeated before he grinned as he realized that Saria’s bishop was within attack range. **Queen, H6.**

“Rook, C8.”

Link decided to counterattack. **Rook, C8.**

“Knight, C8.”

A counterattack for a counterattack. All right. **Pawn, H5.**

“Queen, D8.”

**Knight, G5.**

“Knight, F8.”

**Bishop, E4.**

“Queen, E7.”

With a pawn within range, Link decided to try a Ganondorf move: pushing hard and fast. **Knight, H7.**

“Oh, on the offensive, are we?” Saria asked with a grin. “That’s fine. Knight, H7.”

Instead of trying to take on the knight, Link went a different route. **Pawn, G6.**

“Pawn, G6.”

Link’s pawn took down Saria’s pawn but then his pawn was taken by her other pawn.

**Bishop, G6.**

Saria didn’t try to avenge her pawn taken by the bishop, going for a defensive measure. “Knight, G5.”

**Knight, H5.**

“Knight, F3.”

**King, G2.**

“Knight, H4.”

**King, G3.**

Saria decided to take care of Link’s forgotten bishop to try and gain the advantage. “Knight, G6.”

**Knight, F6.**

“King, F7.”

**Queen H7.**

Saria glanced around, trying to figure out another move that she could do, but Link’s pieces were putting pressure on her king, rendering her unable to do anything without getting into checkmate. She sighed, shaking her head and waving a hand at the king piece which fizzled out.

“Well, you’re better at chess than you give yourself credit for,” Saria murmured, smiling at Link fondly. “Good luck on your last trial, fairy boy. I’ll see you soon.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know nothing about chess so all this is wrong and heavily incorrect but it's done -.-  
> It's a boring chapter, I know. Hopefully the next one will be better. Maybe.


	39. Arc 1: Trial of the Spirit

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am not dead I just needed a break from this xD  
> But my brain is cooperating now and I looked over previous chapters and my brain has decided that not all of them are shitty. So, last trial and then we go back to our regularly scheduled program xD

When the light faded from her vision, Zelda blinked to get the stars to leave then glanced around she couldn’t see anything spectacular or interesting. All that was there was a simple mirror.

 ** _The final trial requires you to face the shadows that reside deep in your soul,_** the disembodied voice boomed. **_Face and defeat them to receive your prize._**

Zelda approached the mirror and stared at her reflection. She didn’t really know what she was looking for. She still looked the same; short hair and traveling clothes.

Zelda touched her fingertips to the glass of the mirror, unsure of what she was supposed to do.

The reflection in the mirror suddenly grinned and Zelda took several steps back as a hand phased through the glass, surface rippling like water.

Zelda summoned her Light Bow as an inky black version of herself stepped out of the mirror, eyes crimson.

A shadow? That was her test?

A black Light Bow appeared in the shadow’s hand as it mimicked Zelda’s stance.

For a second, nothing happened as Zelda and her shadow counterpart stared at each other before the shadow smiled.

“You’ve disappointed your father. You’ll never be the Queen your mother was.”

Zelda gasped as the words pierced her like fire arrows.

The shadow was her insecurities manifested.

The shadow’s grin widened as it realized that the needling was working. “You’re going to be an heir to the throne of nothing but failure. You can’t fight. You wait for your friends to do it for you. They consider you a weak link.”

Zelda closed her eyes as she focused on keeping herself calm. The shadow was trying to purposely anger her and have her make a mistake. After a few breaths, Zelda opened her eyes and raised her bow, an arrow appearing.

The shadow copied her.

“I may not be the best fighter….but I know by what I lack, my friends will make up for my weakness. I can hope that as I fight, I gain valuable experience so I can stand beside them as equals.”

The shadow’s red eyes narrowed as Zelda drew the string of her bow back. It copied her.

As Zelda was about to loose the arrow, the shadow spoke again.

“You know he doesn’t love you.”

Zelda’s fingers slipped and the arrow was sent flying, completely missing its target.

The shadow released its arrow seconds later, the tip grazing the side of Zelda’s neck.

Zelda didn’t bleed from the strike but it stung as if she was.

“He’s pretending to love you so he can get the throne. Once he’s King he’s going to kill you.”

Zelda lowered her bow, hand tightening on the handle. She glared at the shadow, tears pricking at the corners of her eyes. “Ganon isn’t like that. He loves me for me. Not my throne.”

The shadow smirked and moved towards Zelda with lightning speed. It didn’t attack her and merely leaned closer to her to whisper in sing-song, “That love is going to be the death of you.”

Zelda reacted quickly, using the sharp edge of her bow to stab the shadow through the neck.

Stepping back, the bow still lodged in its throat, the shadow gave a gurgling laugh. “You’re a disgrace to your ancestors.”

The shadow faded and Zelda’s bow clattered to the ground.

She stared at the Light Bow, hands clenched. “I know…”

* * *

Ganondorf stared at the mirror in front of him warily. He scratched his chin, the stubble growing into a thicker beard and reminding him he needed to shave. Looking around the back of the mirror, Ganondorf saw nothing. He stared back at his reflection, putting his hands on his hips. “What exactly am I supposed to do with a mirror?”

His reflection smiled of its own accord and Ganondorf had time to only take a step back before a hand emerged form the mirror and grabbed his throat. He was pushed back as the reflection stepped from the glass, its appearance turning darker as it emerged.

Ganondorf stared at his dark counterpart. It wasn’t like the shadows of his ancestors. It was a shadow of himself.

The shadow sneered as it shoved Ganondorf back before withdrawing two blades from its sides.

“So, you want a fight, huh?” Ganondorf grumbled, drawing his swords. “Bring it on.”

“She’s just using you, you know.”

Ganondorf faltered slightly as the shadow spoke.

“Always good to have a loyal piggy on your side, right?”

A deep rumbling growl erupted from Ganondorf’s chest as he glared. “She isn’t keeping me as a pawn, you wraith. She loves me.”

“Love makes you weak.”

“Love makes me strong!” Ganondorf raised his blades above his head in an X shape as they became drenched in flames and sparkling ice. He swung them down, releasing an energy of fire and ice towards the shadow.

The shadow jumped to avoid the attack and flipped behind Ganondorf.

Ganondorf turned around in time to block the shadow’s attack.

“Then show me what love gets you!”

Ganondorf growled before he shoved the shadow back then swung out once more with his blades, one at a time.

The shadow countered each strike, both blades clanging against each other, metal sparking.

They were evenly matched but Ganondorf was slowly forcing the shadow to step back.

Ganondorf struck once more before he grinned and disappeared from view.

The shadow appeared surprised at the tactic, glancing around.

Appearing above the shadow, Ganondorf flipped once as he shifted into Ganon. He slammed a paw into the shadow, pinning it to the ground as he landed.

The shadow smirked. “A monster, as always.”

Ganon snorted, raising his head as he stared down at the shadow. “I am not a monster. Ganon is just a side effect of Demise’s Imprisoned form. But even a beast can be tamed.”

The shadow’s eyes widened as Ganon spoke, but it didn’t have time to respond as Ganon blasted it with a concentrated beam of energy, destroying it completely.

Ganon shifted back, staring at the scorch mark on the floor. “Stay where you belong, shadow.”

* * *

Link stayed out of the general vicinity of the mirror, eyeing it from a distance warily.

If the mirrored surface of the Water Temple had taught him anything it was to avoid suspiciously placed mirrors.

 _Why did it have to be shadows?_ Link wondered, glancing around once more for any signs of a shadow appearing.

He would have dealt with anything else but facing off against himself was where he drew the line.

Of course, the last trial had to deal with shadows.

Link continued to glare at the mirror from a safe distance before he sighed and stood from his crouch, moving closer to the mirror. He stared at his reflection and saw how tired he looked. He didn’t feel tired but everything that they had been doing was stressful and hard on the mind.

Link put his hand against the mirror’s surface, waiting for the shadow to appear.

Shadows always liked to appear in dramatic ways.

Link removed his hand and stepped back when the mirror’s surface rippled.

From the mirror’s depths, a shadow stepped out, a carbon copy of Link even down to the Ordon clothes he still wore.

The shadow grinned at Link who silently withdrew the Master Sword in preparation for the fight.

The shadow didn’t move for a while, neither drawing its sword nor appearing like it was going to attack. All it did was smile.

Link narrowed his eyes at the shadow, grip tightening on his sword.

“Aw, why look at me with that vicious stare? You look like I just drowned your goldfish.”

Link grit his teeth, baring them slightly as the shadow tilted its head.

“What’s that? Can’t speak?” the shadow pouted. “Poor lamb.”

Link rushed forward, lashing out with his sword which connected with a pitch black Master Sword.

The shadow grinned as Link pushed against its sword. “Did that make you angry? That you can’t speak? Voice your own opinions? Get over yourself.”

Link grunted as he was pushed back. He quickly swiped out once more but the shadow leapt up and landed nimbly on the Master Sword’s blade.

“No one wants to hear you speak. You’re just playing at being a hero. You’re not worthy of the Master Sword.”

Link shoved his sword up to dislodge the shadow which landed neatly nearby. He glared at it, realizing its tactic was to wheedle its way under his skin and make him doubt himself. He wasn’t going to let it. Gripping the Master Sword in both hands, Link charged at the shadow.

In response, the shadow ran at Link, Master Sword angled down by its side, mimicking Link’s stance.

Both blades clashed together with force, creating sparks.

Link pushed against the shadow who pushed back, creating an even match. Link eventually shoved the shadow back and tried for a counterattack but the shadow met him halfway.

It knew what he was going to do, being a mirror image. If Link was going to win then he needed to fake the shadow out.

After they clashed again, Link made to strike to the left and as predicted the shadow began to shift its attack to the left. Quickly, Link shifted and swung to the right, his sword cutting deep into the shadow’s side.

The shadow shrieked and stepped back from the blow, leaking purple miasma. It narrowed its eyes at Link.

With it distracted, Link lunged forward and buried his sword in the shadow’s chest.

The shadow sneered at him. “You’re never going to be their equal.”

Link pulled the sword out and the shadow dissipated. He sighed, staring at the Master Sword before he sheathed it.

If he weren’t worthy of the Master Sword it wouldn’t have allowed him to withdraw it in the first place.

* * *

The sun was setting beyond the horizon, making the pink leaves of the Deku Tree appear orange. The three trials had lasted several hours. Inside the trial realm, it only felt like minutes, but now back in the physical realm, Ganondorf could feel how long it had been.

“It seems you three have passed the trials with flying colors,” the Deku Tree murmured as he watched the three stretching.

“Good job!” Astrid chirped, landing on Ganondorf’s head. “I never doubted you for a second!”

Link stared at Astrid for a bit, wondering if the trial had just made up the link between the Korok and Saria.

Ganondorf rubbed the back of his neck with a groan. “Okay, we beat the trials. What do we get from it?”

“Enhanced weapons,” the Deku Tree rumbled. “Zelda, summon your Light Bow, if you would.”

Zelda blinked then nodded. “Ah, all right.”

She summoned the Light Bow and Ganondorf spotted the difference immediately. Instead of the bow being dark it was now filled with light, the magical splendor rejuvenated.

Zelda stared at the bow in awe, tilting it side to side.

“The arrows loosed from your bow will now be even more effective,” the Deku Tree explained. “It will surely aid your quest.”

Zelda bowed. “Thank you, Great Deku Tree.”

“And you, Link, the Master Sword will now be infused with light, making it an excellent companion against beasts filled with Malice.”

Ganondorf only flinched slightly at the mention of the Malice but remained silent, not sure if the Deku Tree had meant that directed at him.

Link unsheathed the Master Sword, the blade glowing faintly. He seemed pleased with it and bowed to show his appreciation to the Deku Tree.

The Deku Tree’s vision went to Ganondorf. “And as for you, your blades are named after the great Gerudo witches Koume and Kotake. They were a rare breed as they could merge into one being. In respect for your once mothers, your twin blades can now fuse into one giant weapon: Twinrova.”

Ganondorf decided to test what the Deku Tree said. He withdrew both swords from their sheaths then slammed them against each other.

In a flash of fire and ice, the two blades fused, becoming larger. The light faded, revealing a single sword the size of a claymore, blade shaped like a curved scimitar. The two ribbons at the end of the pommel were replaced by a short chain shaped like a broom.

Ganondorf grinned at the newly formed sword. “Oh, I like this. I like it a lot.”

He pried the swords apart, reverting the single blade back into two, and sheathed them. Then he bowed to the Deku Tree.

The Deku Tree leaned forward slightly in his own bow before he grumbled to himself. “I understand you may be eager to return to not only your friends but your task at hand. However, as the sun is setting, I offer that you stay the night to rest and eat.”

Zelda looked at Link and Ganondorf but she already knew their answer. The three of them were starving since they hadn’t eaten since that morning. It was dangerous to travel at night with Stalmonsters roaming around.

“We thank you for your kind offer, Great Deku Tree,” Zelda said with a smile.

At the prospect of them staying, several Korok bounded over to the trio.

“We’ll make you dinner!”

“It will be the best dinner ever!”

“Do you like mushrooms?”

A few of the Korok even surrounded Ganondorf as they led the three into a small opening at the base of the Deku Tree.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Arc 2 in a few chapters. Who's excited? I am. I've been waiting so long to get to the second arc so then I can get to the third arc xD


	40. Arc 1: Death Mountain

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Been busy but I am also starting up 10k Years of Calamity's Song too. However that will have to wait a bit. Next Friday I'm closing on a house so busy busy busy.  
> But enjoy this chapter! It's almost double what I normally do cause I had too much xD

After a good nights’ rest at the cramped inn beneath the Deku Tree, Zelda and the other two left to return to the entrance of Death Mountain. They waved at the Koroks as they left, Astrid perched on her usual spot atop Ganondorf’s head.

Helltrotter and the other two horses raise their heads from grazing at the approach of their owners.

“I hope you behaved yourselves,” Ganondorf said, rubbing Helltrotter’s neck.

Helltrotter snorted in response.

Ganondorf got up into the saddle and spurred Helltrotter into a walk,

“I guess we’re going back to the Death Mountain entrance?” Zelda asked, glancing at Ganondorf and Link.

Link gave a nod. **I hope Sidon and the others don’t mind how long it took.**

“It only took a day,” Ganondorf grumbled with a shrug. “It wasn’t that long.”

The mist fell away to reveal the bright sunshine and warmth of the lands beyond the Lost Woods.

Zelda glanced at the military camp as they walked past it, noticing that it was completely empty. “Huh…?”

Ganondorf glanced over his shoulder when Zelda fell behind, pulling Helltrotter to a stop. “What’s up?”

Link also stopped to see what the hold up was.

“The camp is empty,” Zelda said. “It’s never empty.”

Link and Ganondorf looked at the silent camp.

“That is unusual,” Ganondorf admitted, but offered no reason as to why the camp could be empty.

Zelda didn’t like it at all. Something in her gut told her that the soldiers abandoning their post had something to do with her father. It didn’t bode well.

“Come on, Zelda!” Ganondorf called, already continuing with Link. “Faster we get there, faster we can find the temple!”

Zelda shook off the ominous feeling that had settled on her and spurred Bluebell into a trot to catch up. “I’m coming!”

* * *

It was high noon on the second day when the three arrived back at Foothill Stable.

The Zora were outside with Sidon crouching in front of the cooking pot, staring at the bubbling food seriously.

Bazz spotted the trio first and raised a hand. “Hey. You’re back.”

“How did it go?” Mipha asked as Ganondorf led the three horses to the stable to house them.

Zelda smiled. “It went well. We passed the trials and got heightened abilities for our weapons.”

“That will help you, right?” Bazz asked. “Good. You never know what’s up in that mountain.”

 **What are you doing?** Link asked as he approached Sidon.

Sidon perked up upon noticing Link, headtail waving. “Ah, you’re back. I was trying to emulate your cooking, but I don’t think it’s turning out so well.”

**What are you making?**

“Well, with the abundance of fish in the nearby lake and the stable providing native mushrooms and herbs, I tried to make creamy seafood soup.”

 **Let me taste,** Link offered, dropping to a crouch next to Sidon.

Sidon handed a wooden spoon to Link who dunked it into the pot to stir the food and eye it critically.

The fish was cut into nice bite-sized chunks. Carrots, sunshroom, and Hyrule herb were mixed into the creamy milk mixture. Everything looked all right to Link, but it also mattered if it tasted all right.

After another stir, Link tasted a bit of the soup to determine if the taste was on point. He shook his head.

**Forgot salt.**

“Salt?” Sidon repeated before he gasped. “Oh, yes, I did!”

Link continued to stir the soup so it wouldn’t burn while Sidon ran off to get the salt.

“Have a little cooking protégé, huh?” Ganondorf teased as he sat by the pot.

Link stuck his tongue out at Ganondorf in response.

Sidon returned with a chunk of rock salt, scraping off a bit of it into the soup.

Link stirred again then tasted it and nodded. **Better.**

Sidon appeared pleased with himself, headtail waving in excitement.

“Is lunch ready then?” Mipha asked as she came over with Bazz and Zelda.

“Having lunch before we go up the mountain sounds good,” Zelda said.

A stable hand that was sweeping nearby laughed when she heard the conversation. “You’re going up the mountain like _that_?”

Ganondorf looked himself over as Link passed out bowls. “What’s wrong with how we look?”

“You won’t even make it past the first checkpoint without a fireproof elixir.”

Zelda looked at Mipha. “You didn’t find any elixirs?”

“No. We asked everyone, even Beedle.”

Ganondorf snorted at the merchant’s name.

The stable hand smiled. “Well, I have some fireproof elixirs left over that I don’t need….”

“How many does one need to reach Goron City?” Bazz asked.

“Three should be more than enough.”

“So we’ll need nine,” Ganondorf mumbled. “How much for them?”

“150 for three elixirs.”

Zelda did the math in her head about how much nine elixirs would cost. “So, 450 Rupees? Do we even have that much?”

The Zora shook their heads while the others searched through their pockets. Between the three of them they came up with 200 Rupees.

Zelda sighed. “250 short…”

“We could trade for the last 250 Rupees?” Ganondorf offered, looking at the stable hand.

The girl hummed, tapping her chin as she thought about the offer. “Show me what you got.”

Before anyone could do anything, Sidon stood and approached the woman. He took the sword from his hip and held it out.

“Will this suffice? It’s made from the finest Zora steel.”

“Sidon!” Mipha gasped. “You can’t give that away!”

“I’ll have Dento make another,” Sidon said with a shrug. “I have not been using it anyway, so it’s weighing me down.”

The stable hand took the sheathed sword, looking it over before pulling it out slightly to stare at the polished blade. “Well…. I guess this is definitely worth the 450 Rupees.”

“So we have a deal?” Sidon asked.

“Mm!” the stable hand nodded. “Nine fireproof elixirs for this fancy sword. Deal.”

“Excellent.”

“Is that an important sword?” Zelda asked, glancing at Mipha.

“Well, it’s really useless in fights. It’s too thin and actually not that sharp. It’s decoration.”

“Why’s it so special then?” Ganondorf huffed, starting to eat his soup as the stable hand left to get the elixirs.

“Well, father had it made for Sidon’s 100th birthday. Zora steel is extremely rare.”

“Father will understand,” Sidon murmured, sitting beside Mipha.

Mipha smiled. “I’m sure he will. He’s very understanding.”

After several minutes, the stable hand returned with a small sack which clinked.

“Here you go.” She held out the sack. “Feel free to use the empty bottles one you’re done. They can be useful for potions or catching fairies.”

“How do we use the elixir?” Zelda asked.

“Each elixir is different, but the fireproof elixirs require you to rub it onto your skin like sunscreen.”

“Seems simple enough,” Ganondorf said. “Thanks.”

“Just make sure you don’t take detours. Each elixir lasts twelve minutes, long enough for you to reach Goron City where they sell flamebreaker armor and accessories.”

“We’ll make sure not to dally,” Zelda said, shooting a look at Link.

Link looked innocent at her stare, tilting his head.

Ganondorf knew why she was giving him the warning. Link was more likely to become distracted by something on their way to the city.

* * *

Once lunch had been finished, the Zora saw off the three until the entrance to Death Mountain. Even though they hadn’t passed the first checkpoint, the air was already humid and sultry. Sulfur from the volcano’s summit drifted through the air.

“If it’s already like this, I can imagine how hot it will be further up,” Zelda huffed as she, Link and Ganondorf walked the barren path to the first checkpoint.

The air temperature was decidedly different than the desert air. Ganondorf didn’t like it at all. The Zora were lucky they had to remain in the cooler part of Eldin.

Link was already wilting under the heat, trying to shield himself with his shirt.

An Eldin ostrich stopped pecking at the ground as the three approached where it stood in the middle of the path.

Zelda gasped at the sight of the large, flightless bird. “Look, an Eldin ostrich!”

“It’s in our way,” Ganondorf grumbled, scowling at the bird.

It tilted its head at them then puffed itself up with a squawk, pawing the ground in challenge.

 **We could kill it and eat it later,** Link suggested.

“Link!” Zelda said, swatting his arm. “We can’t kill it because we want to.”

“I’ve heard Eldin ostrich tasted like duck,” Ganondorf said.

“Gan, not you too.”

Ganondorf shrugged, crossing his arms. “What do you suggest we do to make it move?”

“We could go around it…”

The path was large enough for them to go around the ostrich since it didn’t seem too keen on moving anytime soon.

Link waved a hand. He wanted to get out of the heat as soon as possible.

The three went around the ostrich, giving it a wide berth. The ostrich watched them with a squawk, giving them the stink eye.

With that settled, the trio continued on their way and came across their first checkpoint.

“Looks like it’s elixir time,” Ganondorf grunted, untying the bag of elixirs from his waist and pulling out the bottles one at a time. He gave one to Link and Zelda before uncorking his own to rub the acrid smelling elixir on his skin, making sure to get every exposed inch.

“Link!” Zelda snapped.

Ganondorf looked up to see that instead of applying the elixir to his skin like he was supposed to, Link was drinking it.

 **What?** Link asked. **You’re supposed to drink elixirs.**

“The lady said you have to put it on your skin.”

Link shrugged and Zelda gave a long-suffering sigh.

“Don’t blame me if you catch on fire, then,” she said.

“You expected him to do anything less than the opposite?” Ganondorf asked with a grin as he placed the empty bottles back in the bag at his hip.

“I was hoping for once he’d actually listen since this isn’t a game.”

“Sometimes he has zero brain cells.”

Zelda sighed. “Apparently so.”

They continued on towards Goron City, the air becoming hotter and more suffocating the closer they came. The fireproof elixirs did as advertised, but it still wasn’t a pleasant journey.

“Thank Hylia…” Zelda gasped as they finally reached the entrance to Goron City an hour later. “Let’s get some armor.”

The Goron, always amicable to strangers, pointed the new arrivals to the armor shop,

“Welcome, travelers!” the Goron behind the counter greeted with a huge grin. “What are you looking for?”

“We need flamebreaker armor or accessories,” Ganondorf said.

The Goron nodded, bending down to take out a box which was set on the counter. “Theses are one of our best accessories, mined right here in Death Mountain. These headbands and bracelets are made from high quality onyx and brimstone, designed to withstand even the hottest area here in Eldin.”

Ganondorf, Zelda and Link eyed the glossy black bracelets and circlets. The surface was specked with yellow.

Onyx and brimstone were extremely rare and hard to find, even in Eldin. They were a better choice than the clunky armor the Goron provided, but because of the rarity of the materials, the accessories were more expensive. They were effective enough to only need one though, so the price tag was worth it.

“How much?” Zelda asked. “We’ll need three.”

“For the bracelets, they’re 4,000 Rupees apiece. The circlets are 5,000 Rupees apiece.”

The price tag pierced the three like arrows. They definitely didn’t have over 15,000 Rupees to spare.

“We could…trade?” Zelda offered with a smile.

The Goron flapped a hand. “You got nothing I want.”

“Perhaps we could do something for you?” Ganondorf asked. “We don’t have the money….”

Grunting, the Goron folded his arms. “I only take Rupees.”

Zelda looked at Ganondorf and Link who also appeared at a loss for what to do. Even if they couldn’t buy the accessories, they still couldn’t afford even a piece of armor. There was no way they would be able to search for the temple on fireproof elixirs alone.

Zelda knew there was _one_ way she could get the Goron to hand over the accessories though and she squared her shoulders, staring at the Goron seriously.

“Do you realize who I am? I am princess Zelda Adeena Hyrule. I am on a private journey with my guards to protect the future of Hyrule.”

The Goron blinked in surprise, having not recognized Zelda with her short hair. He quickly gave a bow. “Ah, apologize, princess. I didn’t realize it was you.”

“That’s quite all right I’m afraid we are a little low on funds right now, but we do require those accessories to be able to continue our journey. On my honor as princess, I promise I will repay you for the cost of the accessories, plus interest.”

The shop keeper appeared conflicted at the offer before he nodded. “Of course.”

“I will offer it in writing to prove my sincerity,” Zelda added as Ganondorf took three bracelets.

Getting a sheet of fire-resistant paper from beneath the counter, the Goron handed it to Zelda along with a quill from an Eldin ostrich.

Zelda scribbled an IOU then signed it. In lieu of stamping it with the royal seal, she drew the seal instead.

“Once our journey is complete, I will personally visit to compensate you,” Zelda said with a pleasant smile as she handed the sheet back.

With an eager nod, the Goron waved to the three as they left the shop.

As they slid the bracelets on, the air around them became a few degrees cooler and less stifling, Ganondorf leaned closer to Zelda with a low growl, pressing his face against her neck.

“You’re hot when you do that.”

Zelda elbowed him hard in the ribs with an amused smile. “I don’t like throwing my weight around, but we do need these if we’re going to continue.”

 **What do we do now?** Link asked, glancing around the city. **Ask around?**

“We’ll need someone who may know of a temples existence,” Ganondorf said, scanning the area for an elder Goron. He spotted one shuffling nearby.

The Goron’s shell of rock had points jutting out of it and atop his shoulders. A makeshift eyepatch covered his right eye and the white beard was tied into four bushels.

“How about him?”

Zelda looked to where ganondorf pointed and approached the Goron. “Good day, sir.”

“Eh?” the Goron halted, squinting at Zelda. “Whaddaya want?”

“We’re looking for someone who may know about a temple around here.”

“Temple?” the Goron grunted, pulling at his beard. “Well Chief Daruk may know about one…his house is up that hill.”

The Goron pointed to a house atop the middle section of the city, overlooking it.

Zelda nodded once and gave a bow. “Thank you, mister…”

“Bludo. But everyone calls me Boss.”

“Thank you, Boss.”

Bludo watched as the three went up to Daruk’s house before he shuffled off with a grumble.

Sitting outside the rock caved home was a young Goron playing with several marbles.

Zelda recognized the game as Cragslag, a Goron pastime. She didn’t know the rules to the game, but Goron enjoyed playing it with marbles made from excess ore mined from Death Mountain. Impure ore or ore mixed with minor metals were made into marbles to either be used in Cragslag or collected by enthusiasts.

At the approach of the group, the Goron looked up with a small gasp then scrambled to his feet, running into the house. “Dad!”

A Goron exited the house several seconds later, looking at the trio. A thick chain crossed the Goron’s chest, a heavy sword strapped to his back. He was young and powerful, obviously able to hold his own in a battle, that much Ganondorf could tell. No wonder he was the Goron leader.

“Something I can help you with?” the Goron rumbled as the smaller Goron trotted back, hiding behind his legs.

“Are you Daruk?” Zelda asked. “Bludo said you may know of a temple that exists here?”

Daruk hummed, stroking his white beard. Well, I know of the Rudania Temple, over near the eastern side of Death Mountain, but a monster has recently taken up roost there. One I’ve never seen before.”

“That has to be the temple,” Ganondorf said. “Near the mountain, right? Won’t be too hard to find it.”

Daruk blinked as the three walked off in the direction of Death Mountain before he trotted after them. “Whoa, whoa, you three want to go to the temple? The monster that’s popped up lives in the lava around the mountain. You can’t take on something like that by yourselves.”

 **We’ve taken down a lot of monsters,** Link assured. **This won’t be difficult.**

Daruk rubbed the back of his neck. “The beast has a thick hide. I could help ya take it down.”

Ganondorf paused. “Take it down?”

“Yep! With my shield, I can crack even the toughest rock!”

Ganondorf looked at Zelda and Link.

“Well….” Zelda muttered. “If the monster is as tough as you say, then I suppose extra muscle wouldn’t hurt.”

Daruk grinned widely. “You won’t regret it, brothers!”

He turned to the young Goron that had been following them, kneeling down.

“Go stay with Bludo until I return, Yunobo. It’s too dangerous for you.”

Yunobo pouted but nodded, trudging back towards the city.

With that settled, Daruk followed the trio, directing them to the bridge spanning above Goron City. “The Bridge of Eldin will lead to the area where the lava monster is. It’s right near Bludo’s canons so even better.”

Link’s eyes lit up at the mention of cannons. **Cannons?**

“What do we need the cannons for?” Ganondorf asked.

“To down the beast, you’ll have to shoot me at it,” Daruk explained. “Luckily, bomb flowers grow near the cannon so making the cannon work won’t be a problem.”

“What exactly does this lava monster look like?” Zelda asked.

Daruk gave a laugh. “Like an enormous centipede.”

“A lava Moldorm?” Ganondorf muttered, frowning.

“With a huge eye. Bet that’s it’s weak point, but ya can’t get at the eye even with arrows so stunning it is the next best bet.”

**Why haven’t the Goron taken care of it if you have a plan?**

“Oh, we have, but it keeps popping back every blood moon. We gave up trying. Not worth the manpower.”

The monster had to be guarding the temple then, Zelda imagined. It would probably remain dead once they defeated it.

Daruk led the three across the patchwork metal Bridge of Eldin and up a path that looped around the base of Death Mountain.

Despite the flamebreaker bracelets, the heat of the lava was making the three sweat.

A cannon came into view, perched on a small hill with three clusters of bomb flowers around it.

While Link ran off to check the cannon out, Ganondorf scanned the bubbling lava.

As if responding to their presence, an enormous creature bust up from the lava, shrieking. Its single eye stared at them, pinchers attached to its chest clacking,

“Keep it distracted!” Daruk yelled as he ran to the cannon, a red crystal shield springing around his body.

“That we can do,” Ganondorf grunted as he unsheathed his swords.

Zeld summoned the Light Bow, arrow nocked.

The beast screeched, lowering its enormous body to take a swing at the trespassers.

Ganondorf crossed sword in front of himself, bracing for the impact. When the pincher struck his shield, Ganondorf slide back several inches.

Zelda fired the arrow at the monster, but it deflected it with a flick of its head.

While they took care of distracting the monster, Daruk leaped into the cannon, curling into a rocky ball. “Aim and fire away, brother!”

Link slid the cannon’s muzzle so it pointed at the monster then ran to a bomb flower. He picked one, the end lighting once it detached from the root, and dumped it into the hole behind Daruk before moving out of range.

Seconds later, the bomb exploded, launching Daruk out of the cannon. He struck the monster’s side with precision.

Squealing from the attack, the monster was distracted and turned to face Daruk as he landed on the ground.

Zelda took her opportunity to fire another Light Arrow which found its mark, burying deep in the beast’s eye.

Screaming, the monster collapsed to the ground.

Ganondorf flipped up his swords, smashing the hilts together when he grabbed them again, Twinrova appearing in his hands. He raised the sword above his head then swung down, cleaving one of the monsters’ pinchers from its body.

Rearing up, the monster shrieked then spewed a stream of flames towards the attackers.

Daruk stood in front of Zelda and Ganondorf, his shield protecting them from the flames. Once they stopped, he gave a grin and a thumbs up before racing back to the cannon.

Once again, Ganondorf and Zelda distracted the monster until Daruk struck it once again. Zelda brought it to the ground with a Light Arrow and Ganondorf cut off its other pincher.

Screeching, the beast turned its attention on the cannon, spitting out a ball of flame.

Link quickly bolted out of the way to avoid the fireball.

The attack struck the cannon, destroying it and rendering it unusable.

“Ah, that ain’t good,” Daruk mumbled, rubbing his neck.

“Now what?” Zelda asked as the monster focused on them once again.

“I can do it,” Ganondorf said. “Distract it and I can use Twinrova to send Daruk at it.”

Link gave a thumbs up, taking out his own bow.

“Sounds good to me,” Daruk rumbled as Link and Zelda focused on gaining the monster’s attention.

Standing behind Daruk, Ganondorf held his sword above the ground, gripping the handle tightly. Once the monster was thoroughly distracted, Ganondorf swung his sword back before striking Daruk’s shield with the flat of his blade. The force was enough to send the Goron at the monster.

Zelda and Link both brought it down with arrows.

As Daruk landed on the ground, his shield shattering, Ganondorf smashed the beast’s armored head in.

With the monster’s death, the ground rumbled and from beneath the lava, a building rose.

Ganondorf separated Twinrova back into Koume and Kotake, sheathing the blades.

Once the temple had settled, sections of lava hardened into steppingstones which created a path to the temple.

“Thank you for helping us,” Zelda said with a smile at Daruk. “I’m afraid this is as far as we go together, though.”

Daruk rubbed the back of his neck. “Well, it ain’t my place to ask. Just make sure you don’t be strangers to the city, yeah? You’re all honorary brothers.”

Link grinned, nodded quickly.

“Uh, thanks?” Ganondorf muttered.

Daruk gave a wave as he watched the three head into the temple.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Juuuuust about 3 more chapters and it will start up act 2 :)

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Ashes of Power](https://archiveofourown.org/works/21022163) by [bloodsexsugarmagick](https://archiveofourown.org/users/bloodsexsugarmagick/pseuds/bloodsexsugarmagick)




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